We all knew this was only a short matter of time given the Supreme Court appointments ofJudge Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.
PIERRE, S.D.--South Dakota lawmakers approved a ban on nearly all abortions Friday, setting up a deliberate frontal assault on Roe v. Wade at a time when some activists see the U.S. Supreme Court as more willing than ever to overturn the 33-year-old decision.
Republican Gov. Mike Rounds said he was inclined to sign the bill, which would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless it was necessary to save the woman's life. The measure would make no exception in cases of rape or incest.
This is really nice. You walk down the wrong ally late one night in South Dakota and accidentally get raped--sorry, you must have the child and live with this dramatic event for the rest of your life because the government in South Dakota basically owns the rights to your body.
Let's get back on track here.
This story has more to do with kicking Roe vs. Wade and making abortion an election year hot-button issue than anything else. Everyone knows that nothing stirs up the "fundie" base and the conservative base more than a very public spat over abortion. When are these people going to get it that they are simply being used as tools of the political machine?
Many opponents and supporters of abortion rights believe the U.S. Supreme Court is more likely to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion now that conservatives John Roberts and Samuel Alito are on the bench. Lawmakers said growing support among South Dakotans for abortion restrictions added momentum to the bill.
"I think the stars are aligned," said House Speaker Matthew Michels, a Republican. "Simply put, now is the time."
This legislation was passed fully knowing that groups like Planned Parenthood would sue and clear the way for an eventual Supreme Court showdown.
Planned Parenthood, which operates the only abortion clinic in South Dakota, has pledged to sue over the measure. About 800 abortions a year are performed in South Dakota.
Donations are already pouring into the mother-of-all-holy trench wars over this often-inflammatory subject.
Money for the anticipated legal fight is already pouring in. Lawmakers were told during the debate that an anonymous donor has pledged $1 million to defend the ban, and the Legislature is setting up a special account to accept donations.
"We've had people stopping in our office trying to drop off checks to promote the defense of this legislation already," Rounds said.
This law is bad all the way around.
Some people think getting an abortion because you may die or have been raped is simply a matter of convenience.
Leslee Unruh, president of the Alpha Center, a Sioux Falls pregnancy counseling agency that tries to steer women away from abortion, said most of the abortions performed in South Dakota do not stem from rape or even failed contraception, but are simply "conveniences."
Unruh said she believes most South Dakota women want the state to ban abortion, and many who have had abortions "wish someone would have stopped them."
The glaring negatives of such erroneous legislation include:
If a rape victim becomes pregnant and bears a child, the rapist could have the same parental rights as the mother, said Krista Heeren-Graber, executive director of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault.
"The idea the rapist could be in the child's life ... makes the woman very, very fearful. Sometimes they need to have choice," Heeren-Graber said.
Some advocates said an abortion ban would hurt poor women the most by forcing them to travel long distances to other states where the procedure is legal.
"It's a sad state of affairs that we have only one choice right now" in South Dakota, said Charon Asetoyer of the Native American Women's Health Care Education Resource Center. "But if you have to go out of state, the cost of making that trip will be prohibitive."
Kate Looby, Planned Parenthood director in Sioux Falls, said women who cannot afford to travel to a clinic might be forced to turn to unsafe methods of abortion.
"We've seen it in the past in this country, we've seen it all over the world and there's no reason to believe it would not happen in South Dakota," Looby said.
To the legislative body of the wonderful state of South Dakota, get with the program.
"Little" Republican government (how funny) is growing again and now is crossing into people's personal lives like a virus out of control. The government should never have the ability to sanction what Joe Q. Public does with his or her body. Especially don't pass a law that puts the safety of that mother and her "forced" offspring into jeopardy.
Just add this to the "when big government goes bad file."
Simply put, the entire situation is of ill-repute, and it's all very sad in the end.
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