Politics

abortion

South Dakota Poised to Ban Abortion

By David Brody
Capitol Hill Correspondent

CBNNews.com – WASHINGTON - A law that would ban almost all abortions in South Dakota is headed to the governor's desk.

State lawmakers passed the bill last week. It is the strongest state ban to be approved since abortion was legalized in 1973.

It is almost certain to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some South Dakotans are outraged that the bill would ban nearly all abortions in their state. But backed by increasing public support to further restrict abortion, South Dakota's pro-life governor Mike Rounds says he is inclined to sign the bill into law.

The measure would outlaw abortions -- even in cases of rape or incest -- except when necessary to save the life of the mother.

Doctors could face five years in prison for performing an illegal abortion. Opponents say the bill is a direct assault on the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion 33 years ago.

They fear that the two new conservative justices on the bench could cause Roe to be overturned.

"The shift in the court has emboldened anti-choice forces to try to put forth unconstitutional bills to test and see whether Roe v. Wade can be overturned,” said Nancy Northup of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Planned Parenthood runs the state’s only abortion clinic and says it will sue to block the bill. The group says that the law unfairly impacts poor women and rape victims.

"This is an issue affecting real people, real lives around the states and potentially around the country," said Kate Looby of South Dakota Planned Parenthood.

But pro-life advocates contend that most of the 800 abortions performed each year in South Dakota stem from convenience, not rape. Donations to defend the ban are pouring in to a special legislative account.

If signed by the governor, the South Dakota abortion ban could become law by July 1. It will likely face legal challenges all the way to the Supreme Court.

But the fact that it has gotten this far is encouraging lawmakers in seven other states, where more restrictive abortion measures are now under consideration.

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