SD Legislature Votes to Ban Abortion, Even in Cases of Rape or Incest

The South Dakota House and Senate has voted to ban abortion in virtually all cases, even rape or incest. That's right. Amendments to create exceptions in cases or rape or incest, or to protect the health of the mother were voted down. If a young girl is raped by her father, she will be forced to have his baby. This isn't about life; this is about the repression and subjugation of women.

Doctors who still perform the operation will be slapped with a five-year prison term and a $5,000 fine. Republican Governor Michael Rounds is expected to sign the bill:

"We hope (Rounds) recognizes this for what it is: a political tool and not about the health and safety of the women of South Dakota," said Kate Looby of Planned Parenthood, which operates the sole clinic providing abortions in South Dakota.

"If he chooses to sign it, we will be filing a lawsuit in short order to block it," she said after attending the afternoon debate at the state capitol in Pierre.

Proponents have said the law was designed for just such a court challenge.

The timing is right, supporters say, given the recent appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the high court. The two conservatives could pave the way to a decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling said women have a constitutional right to abortion.

Planned Parenthood, the only abortion provider in the entire state of South Dakota, plans to fight the ban in what is sure to be a costly, lengthy battle. An anonymous donor has offered $1 million to the state to pay for legal fees.

South Dakota already has some of the tightest restrictions on abortion in the country:

*Like several other states, South Dakota has a mandatory delay law requiring a woman to wait 24 hours before she can get an abortion.
*In March, South Dakota enacted restrictions that force doctors to read to women seeking abortions state-scripted information that is medically inaccurate and infused with ideology. The law also requires women to sign the scripts to certify that they understand them. Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) is currently challenging the law in court.
*The law in South Dakota also requires minors to notify a parent before getting an abortion.
*And earlier this year the state passed a "trigger bill," that will immediately ban all abortions, except to save the life of the woman, if Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, is ever overturned.