Voters in Portland, OR, definitively rejected water fluoridation May 21 for the fourth time in the city’s history since 1956 with a 60%-40% split, the Oregonian reported.
Last September the city council unanimously approved a plan to add fluoride by March 2014. But fluoridation opponents subsequently gathered more than 30,000 signatures to force a referendum, and the city council decided it was in the public interest to schedule the vote for May 2013.
There was financial support — more than $1 million for a city campaign — and political support for the fluoridation plan, according to the Oregonian.
Opponents of public fluoridation contend it is unsafe and violates an individual’s right to consent to medication. They called for an independent scientific review of the latest research so voters can make an informed decision.
Portland’s drinking water already contains naturally occurring fluoride, though not at levels considered to be effective at fighting caries. Portland voters twice rejected fluoridation before approving it in 1978, but that plan was overturned before any fluoride was added to the water.
