Another pro-choice victory

A South Dakota State Senate committee rejected sweeping legislation on Feb. 21 that would have banned most abortions and directly challenged Roe vs. Wade.

The proposed legislation, introduced on Jan. 31, only provided exceptions for rape and incest with DNA evidence. It would have imposed a 50-day limit for women to report rape to the police, and required a confirmation from a physician that the crime had occurred. Doctors would have also been required to take blood from aborted fetuses for police to use in DNA testing. The bill doubled the maximum penalty from last year’s law to 10 years in prison for physicians performing abortions.

Last year, the South Dakota state legislature passed an extreme ban on abortions, with no exceptions for cases of rape, incest or life endangerment. Gov. Mike Rounds signed the measure into law.

But a grassroots movement of pro-choice activists carried out a successful campaign to overturn the ban in the Nov. 7 general election.

The 8 to 1 vote rejecting the bill was a “surprise” to anti-choice advocates. State Sen. Julie Bartling—a Democrat and one of the main sponsors of the 2006 abortion ban—said, “It’s far too soon to put our state through something of such a difficult nature again. The state needs to heal and I just don’t feel that we need to take this up in this legislative session again. The people have spoken.”

Indeed, last year’s abortion ban was defeated at the polls by a margin of 56 to 44 percent, in large measure due to the hard work of pro-choice activists who organized non-stop around the state.

Despite last year’s pro-choice electoral victory that defeated South Dakota’s extreme ban on abortion—which reverberated around the country—legislatures in many states wasted no time in their new 2007 sessions to introduce repressive laws aimed at restricting reproductive rights and/or overturning Roe vs. Wade.

Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia are considering “trigger” laws banning abortion, which would go into effect if Roe vs. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. South Dakota and Louisiana already have trigger laws on the books.

Arizona, Mississippi, North Dakota, Colorado, Georgia, Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming are among other states currently considering legislation to restrict or ban abortions.

A bill introduced in Tennessee would require death certificates for aborted fetuses, which would likely create public records identifying women who have abortions. Keri Adams, vice president of Planned Parenthood in Tennessee, called the legislation “an attempt to terrorize frightened and vulnerable women who are seeking abortion.”

In state after state the right of women to reproductive choices and freedom is under attack. Pro-choice and all progressive activists must redouble their efforts to combat these rightwing, anti-woman measures and ensure that Roe vs. Wade stays intact. Only a mass struggle for women’s reproductive rights will set back the agenda of anti-choice reactionaries.