• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

S.D. governor signs abortion ban into law

nonothing

Well-known member
PIERRE, S.D. - Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation Monday banning nearly all abortions in South Dakota, setting up a court fight aimed at challenging the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.



The bill would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. It would make no exception for cases of rape or incest.

Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's only abortion clinic, in Sioux Falls, has pledged to challenge the measure.

Rounds issued a written statement saying he expects the law will be tied up in court for years and will not take effect unless the U.S. Supreme Court upholds it.

"In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society. The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them," Rounds said in the statement.

The governor declined all media requests for interviews Monday.

The Legislature passed the bill last month after supporters argued that the recent appointment of conservative justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito have made the U.S. Supreme Court more likely to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Abortion opponents already are offering money to help the state pay legal bills for the anticipated court challenge, Rounds has said. Lawmakers said an anonymous donor has pledged $1 million to defend the ban, and the Legislature set up a special account to accept donations for legal fees.

Under the new law, to go into effect July 1, doctors could get up to five years in prison for performing an illegal abortion.

Rounds noted that it was written to make sure existing restrictions would still be enforced during the legal battle. Current state law sets increasingly stringent restrictions on abortions as pregnancy progresses; after the 24th week, the procedure is allowed only to protect the woman's health and safety.

Kate Looby, state director of Planned Parenthood, said the organization has not yet decided whether to challenge the measure in court or to seek a statewide public vote in November. A referendum would either repeal the abortion ban or delay a court challenge to the legislation.

"Obviously, we're very disappointed that Governor Rounds has sided on the side of politics rather than on the side of the women of South Dakota to protect their health and safety," Looby said.

She said Planned Parenthood would continue providing services that include family planning, emergency contraception and safe and legal abortions.

About 800 abortions are performed each year in the state.
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
Silver said:
Pretty dang disgusting. Cant abort for rape, incest, anything. Must be quite a place to live. :???:
I personally prefer a state that won't allow the killing of babies, no matter who their father is! The child of a rapist etc, deserves to live. We should kill the rapist , not the children of a rapist.
 

Liberty Belle

Well-known member
Round one. South Dakota has issued the challenge and is ready to take on all comers to save the lives of pre-born babies from the killing knives of abortionists.

Abortion law fight begins
By Celeste Calvitto, Journal Staff Writer


RAPID CITY — Challenges in the courts and at the ballot box were already gearing up Monday, hours after Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation banning nearly all abortions in South Dakota.

Less than a week after it reached his desk, Rounds signed HB1215, laying the groundwork for a challenge of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld a woman’s right to have an abortion.

“In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society,” Rounds said in a written statement explaining his reasons for signing HB1215, which prohibits abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman. “The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them,” the statement said.

Rounds’ action makes South Dakota the first state in the nation to enact an abortion ban since the Roe v. Wade decision. He said he expects HB1215 to end up in court, preventing it from taking effect July 1.

“That challenge will likely take years to be settled, and it may ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Our existing laws regulating abortions will remain in effect,” Rounds said.

Rounds, at a news conference Monday night at the WestJet terminal at Rapid City Regional Airport, said that personally, he believes a direct frontal assault on Roe v. Wade might not have been the best strategy.

“But there are a lot of people in South Dakota who want to find out if it is,” Round said.

Rounds said he isn’t sure about the effect of a threatened boycott of South Dakota tourism by abortion-rights activists but that the Legislature took that into account when they passed the law.

He has received more than 150 requests for interviews from news outlets worldwide.

Leaders of two organizations that helped to lead the opposition to HB1215 said Monday they are exploring their options — including asking voters to decide the abortion issue.

“We intend to challenge this law in order to protect the women and families of South Dakota,” Kate Looby, state director of Planned Parenthood, said. “It could be state court or federal court, but ‘challenge’ doesn’t necessarily mean a lawsuit. We are keeping all options open, including an attempt to get it on the ballot.”

“The bill is not only unconstitutional, it’s unconscionable,” Jennifer Ring, executive director of the ACLU of the Dakotas, said. “Most South Dakotans believe in a right to an abortion at least under certain circumstances, and I expect it (HB1215) will be challenged.”

Whether the ACLU will directly join a legal challenge has yet to be decided, Ring said. But she said a number of other national organizations could get involved, and it could be an expensive proposition for South Dakota.

“The state will lose, and the Supreme Court may not even hear it,” Ring said. “The state is going to have to pick up the costs at every level.”

Also, women throughout South Dakota — and even nationwide — on Monday were organizing “Rally Against the Abortion Ban,” now set for Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at federal court houses, including Rapid City and Sioux Falls. (The Rapid City Federal Building and Courthouse is at 515 Ninth St.) A flyer urged women, “Wear your pink and purple!”

Sen. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, opposed HB1215 and supports referring the measure to the November ballot. He said South Dakota voters “should have the chance to put this to bed once and for all.”

“The governor is a very thoughtful person,” Adelstein said. “But this controversy has to have the chance for a vote of the people. Petitions are already being drawn and will be circulated throughout the state.”

Adelstein said the effort will seek to prevent HB1215 from taking effect. Petitions for this type of ballot initiative must be filed within 90 days of the adjournment of the 2006 legislative session and contain 16,728 valid signatures of registered voters, according to the Secretary of State’s Web site. Lawmakers are scheduled to return March 20 to Pierre for the last day of the session, putting the deadline for petitions about Monday, June 19.

Jane Murphy, a lobbyist for South Dakota Women’s Advocacy Network, opposed the abortion ban. “It’s a horrible bill,” she said. But, she said: “I’m glad the governor signed it. If he would have vetoed it, the Legislature would be back in the same place a year from now. This is one way to get it out of the legislative arena, where they’ve done as much damage as they can do.”

Murphy also predicted that the new law would help galvanize support for abortion rights and would be an issue in legislative races. “There’s a lot of energy out there that needs to be directed into something,” she said. “It’s time we replaced some legislators.”

If the petitions are validated, HB1215 would be suspended until the November election.

“The best polls are the (voter) polls,” Adelstein said. “I’m convinced that we will defeat this roundly and won’t hear about it again. Then, we can get on to the serious business of education, health care and better jobs.”

But Rep. Elizabeth Kraus, R-Rapid City, among HB1215’s strongest supporters, said the people have already spoken and that she is confident HB1215 will prevail.

“Their elected representatives voted overwhelmingly ‘yes’ on this bill in both the House and Senate,” Kraus said. “Most of us came out as being pro-life when we ran for office, and the duly elected Legislature voted this bill into law, and the governor has signed it.”

Kraus said some of the opposition to HB1215 — including from lawmakers who voted against it — has been because the only stated exception to the law is if the life of a pregnant woman is endangered, and the law does not include exceptions for victims of rape and incest. But she said that HB1215 “allows a chance for a choice.”

“HB1215 does not change current law that allows use of emergency contraception or the ‘morning after pill’ except to limit the days it can be prescribed,” she said. “Any victim of rape or incest will, even after HB1215 becomes law, still be able to choose emergency contraception to prevent a pregnancy prior to the time that her pregnancy test is positive.”

Kraus said she was glad Rounds signed the bill.

“When our state says that abortion is legal, it implies that it is a good and safe choice,” she said. “My friends who have chosen abortion and the testimonies of women I heard on the Abortion Task Force relate that it was often a poor choice for the woman and, of course, a lethal choice for the child.”

The chief sponsor of HB1215, Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, has said that the appointments of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court — along with the possibility that President Bush might have a chance to appoint another justice to replace aging Justice John Paul Stevens — make it more likely to overturn 1973 Roe v. Wade if the issue reaches the court.

Hunt and Rounds have said supporters of HB1215 have offered to make donations to help the state offset the cost of legal challenges. The Legislature voted to establish an account to accept contributions.

Under HB1215, performing an abortion would be a class 5 felony, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Supporters of the law say that it was crafted so that the penalty would apply to the doctor or whoever performs the abortion and not to the pregnant woman.

On the Net: To read the text of HB1215, go to the South Dakota Legislature Web site at http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2006/bills/HB1215enr.htm.

Contact Celeste Calvitto at 394-8438 or celeste.calvitt[email protected]
March 7, 2006
http://rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/03/07/news/top/news01.txt
 

Disagreeable

Well-known member
But they didn't make the penalty for abortion the equivalent of murder. If they claim the fertilized egg has the same rights as a live child, why make the penalty for abortion only a Class 5 felony? Do I smell a hypocrite here?
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
Disagreeable said:
But they didn't make the penalty for abortion the equivalent of murder. If they claim the fertilized egg has the same rights as a live child, why make the penalty for abortion only a Class 5 felony? Do I smell a hypocrite here?
Yes , you do smell a hypocrite there. If we were all where you are , we'd all smell you as well. Complaining because the SD antiabortion laws aren't strong enough when you are in favor of abortions is hypocritical.
 

BBJ

Well-known member
Disagreeable said:
But they didn't make the penalty for abortion the equivalent of murder. If they claim the fertilized egg has the same rights as a live child, why make the penalty for abortion only a Class 5 felony? Do I smell a hypocrite here?

I agree :? or at least I think I do. :???: I would love to see abortion equivilent to murder, wouldn't you?
 

Disagreeable

Well-known member
Red Robin said:
Disagreeable said:
But they didn't make the penalty for abortion the equivalent of murder. If they claim the fertilized egg has the same rights as a live child, why make the penalty for abortion only a Class 5 felony? Do I smell a hypocrite here?
Yes , you do smell a hypocrite there. If we were all where you are , we'd all smell you as well. Complaining because the SD antiabortion laws aren't strong enough when you are in favor of abortions is hypocritical.

I'm not in favor of abortions; I'm in favor of a woman making her own decisions. But while all you South Dakotians are out patting yourselves on the back about banning abortion, you might take a deep breath and realize how foolish you look to compare abortion to other Class 5 felonies, such as, oh, possessing a half pound of marijuana, four DUIs? That shows the depth of the South Dakota Legislature's conviction!
 

Disagreeable

Well-known member
BBJ said:
Disagreeable said:
But they didn't make the penalty for abortion the equivalent of murder. If they claim the fertilized egg has the same rights as a live child, why make the penalty for abortion only a Class 5 felony? Do I smell a hypocrite here?

I agree :? or at least I think I do. :???: I would love to see abortion equivilent to murder, wouldn't you?

It will never happen. This ban has alerted a lot of young women who have grown up since the Roe decision and never expected to have their right to make decisions about their own body questioned. Now they know better.
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
Disagreeable said:
BBJ said:
Disagreeable said:
But they didn't make the penalty for abortion the equivalent of murder. If they claim the fertilized egg has the same rights as a live child, why make the penalty for abortion only a Class 5 felony? Do I smell a hypocrite here?

I agree :? or at least I think I do. :???: I would love to see abortion equivilent to murder, wouldn't you?

It will never happen. This ban has alerted a lot of young women who have grown up since the Roe decision and never expected to have their right to make decisions about their own body questioned. Now they know better.
I think it will. 50 years from now the abortion slaughter that has went on for decades now will be looked upon like hitlers Nazi Germany. I just hope I live long enough to see the abortion murders for hire disquised as doctors get tried, found guilty , and sentenced to the chair for their part in the slaughter.
 

Disagreeable

Well-known member
Red Robin said:
Disagreeable said:
BBJ said:
I agree :? or at least I think I do. :???: I would love to see abortion equivilent to murder, wouldn't you?

It will never happen. This ban has alerted a lot of young women who have grown up since the Roe decision and never expected to have their right to make decisions about their own body questioned. Now they know better.
I think it will. 50 years from now the abortion slaughter that has went on for decades now will be looked upon like hitlers Nazi Germany. I just hope I live long enough to see the abortion murders for hire disquised as doctors get tried, found guilty , and sentenced to the chair for their part in the slaughter.

And I just hope your 14 year old daughter doesn't get raped by a crazy (insert other race here) and have to carry the pregnancy to term.
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
Disagreeable said:
Red Robin said:
Disagreeable said:
It will never happen. This ban has alerted a lot of young women who have grown up since the Roe decision and never expected to have their right to make decisions about their own body questioned. Now they know better.
I think it will. 50 years from now the abortion slaughter that has went on for decades now will be looked upon like hitlers Nazi Germany. I just hope I live long enough to see the abortion murders for hire disquised as doctors get tried, found guilty , and sentenced to the chair for their part in the slaughter.

And I just hope your 14 year old daughter doesn't get raped by a crazy (insert other race here) and have to carry the pregnancy to term.
I guess I don't have a favorite rapist race. :shock: Man you guys are poor thinkers.
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
You went way too far with the Nazi comparison. Go read about the Nazis. Better yet, visit the Holocaust Museum. Imagine yourself being made to dig your own grave and be shot in a group of 500 men, women and children to fall into the mass grave. I can't even go on.
40,000,000 babies in the US Reader...fourty MILLION. How many Christians, Blacks , and Jews were killed in the holocost (which was deplorable)?Lots of black babies, white babies , Jewish babies, brown eyed babies, blue eyed babies, little girls , little boys, scientist, doctors, teachers, preachers, politicians, cow pokes...Lots and lots and lots. The bodies would make huge massive mounds of babies...You decide if you are right or if those babies deserved to die.
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
You prove you don't understand anything about the Nazis. And don't care either (why should you, they weren't Christians or if they were they were socialists or Gypsy or homosexual Christians).
That was the shocking thing to you in my post?
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
You prove you don't understand anything about the Nazis. And don't care either (why should you, they weren't Christians or if they were they were socialists or Gypsy or homosexual Christians).
http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/Lucaire.htm
I don't know the author. I am not pretending to be a holocost student. I have however over the years seen lots of different books and articles stating the pecking order of the Nazis. Hitler didn't just hate Jews, he just hated them the most. My reference to the holocost was by no means to make light of the holocaust but rather to show the scope of the abortion scourge on our nation.
 
Top