South Dakota Voters Reject State Abortion Ban

South Dakota voters on Tuesday rejected 55% to 45% a law (HB 1215) that would have banned all abortions in the state except to save a pregnant woman's life, the Los Angeles Times reports (Simon, Los Angeles Times, 11/8). The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which opposed the law, successfully blocked the July 1 enactment of the law by gathering enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/7). The law, signed by Gov. Mike Rounds (R) in March, would not have punished a woman who undergoes an abortion, but it would have made it a felony to perform one. Physicians convicted of performing the procedure would have faced a minimum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Physicians who saved the life of a woman by performing an abortion would not be charged with a crime under the law as long as they had made "reasonable medical efforts" to "preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/7). The defeat of the ban is a "wake-up call to lawmakers in other states that the pro-choice majority will not allow an assault on Roe v. Wade" -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that effectively barred state abortion bans -- "to go unanswered," NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan said. She added, "Tonight's victory belongs to the people of South Dakota who fought back against this intrusion into their personal, private decisions" (Harden, Washington Post, 11/8). Daniel McConchie -- vice president of Americans United for Life, which supported the ban -- said the vote does not signify a national trend. "The pro-life movement is going to be continuing to focus on pieces of legislation that have broad support," he added (Davey, New York Times, 11/8). According to the Wall Street Journal, the defeat of the ban in South Dakota might "sap momentum from the antiabortion movement" and challenge the "argument that the Supreme Court has imposed abortion rights on states dead set against it" (Bravin, Wall Street Journal, 11/8). Leslee Unruh -- campaign manager for the group VoteYesForLife.com, which supported the ban -- said that the abortion debate is a "marathon, and we have lots of energy left. We can do this again if we have to. We're in it for the long haul." According to the Los Angeles Times, supporters of the ban said they will press the same cause next year (Los Angeles Times, 11/8).

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Wednesday included reporting and analysis by Julie Rovner, health policy correspondent for NPR, about South Dakota voters' rejection of the state's abortion ban (Inskeep, "Morning Edition," NPR, 11/8). Audio of the segment is available online.

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