It didn’t take long, but South Dakota has become the first state to force a test of the new Supreme Court’s position on Roe v. Wade.
Legislation meant to prompt a national legal battle targeting Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, was approved Wednesday by the South Dakota Senate, moving the bill a step closer to final passage.The only exception is to save the life of a pregnant woman. Not her health. Only if she’ll die, not if she’ll be crippled for life. The fundies will not stop until we make them stop. This is a fight we need to keep fighting in every statehouse and in DC. Like many people who have come of age in the years since Roe, I’ve become complacent about the right to an abortion. That has to stop.…
“It is the time for the South Dakota Legislature to deal with this issue and protect the lives and rights of unborn children,” said Democratic Sen. Julie Bartling, the bill’s main sponsor.
The bill, carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison, would make it a felony for doctors or others to perform abortions.
I will point out, however, that even without this law, there’s only one place in the entire state of South Dakota where you can get an abortion. There’s a fight outside of legislative politics that we need to start winning. It includes keeping doctors safe, ensuring women can get reproductive health care without being assaulted or harassed, and it means making sure clinics are funded.
UPDATE: Actually read the rest of the article, rather than just whoever itwas who linked me to it. Edited for not being completely wrong. Thanks to Matt for pointing that out.
February 22nd, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Sasha,
The law has an exception for doctors if they’re trying to save the life of the mother. I’m not sure if that was clear to you or not, but your post seems to imply that no such exception exists. Here’s the excerpt from the story your linked to:
Opponents argued that the measure was too extreme because it would allow abortions only to save the lives of pregnant women. They said abortion should at least be allowed in cases involving rape, incest and a threat to a woman’s health.
Of course, the South Dakota law is still draconian and awful.