Pro-choice forces fight abortion ban

Little did South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds know, when he signed a strict ban on legal abortion on March 6, that pro-choice forces would mount an all-out struggle to stop the law from taking effect on July 1.

On May 30 the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, a diverse coalition, filed petitions to repeal the ban. They contained 38,416 signatures of voters—more than twice the nearly 17,000 valid signatures needed to put a referendum on the ballot in November. Over 1,200 volunteers from 138 cities and towns had canvassed all 66 counties in South Dakota to get the signatures.

The sweeping ban on abortions has offended even some who don’t fully support women’s right to choose. “People from all walks of life, young and old, Democrats, Independents and Republicans, are saying this law went too far,” said Dr. Maria Bell, the official sponsor of the petition drive, in a campaign press release. (www.sdhealthy families.org)

In a state where Native women face a long history of both racism and sexism, they are playing a leading role in fighting the ban. Four pro-choice Native women—Charon Asetoyer, Faith Spotted Eagle, Paula Long Fox and Theresa Spry—are running against anti-choice Democrats in the June 6 primary.

No doubt they were inspired by Cecelia Fire Thunder, tribal president of the Oglala Sioux Indian Nation in South Dakota and a member of the Healthy Families Campaign, who vowed, after passage of the ban, to build an abortion clinic on the Pine Ridge Reservation where all women would be free to receive the medical care they need. However, on May 27 the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted to ban all abortions on the reservation and suspended Fire Thunder for 20 days until an impeachment hearing could take place. By law, the Tribal Council functions within limits set by the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Fire Thunder is accused of soliciting donations for an abortion clinic without the council’s approval. (keloland.com) However, she told Workers World, “This is all part of the ongoing battle for women’s rights.” She vowed to continue the struggle.

If the state verifies the signatures and the referendum is placed on the ballot, it will be the first referendum related to women’s right to abortion in this country. Foes of abortion are preparing a no-holds-barred fight in the state. Already one anonymous donor has pledged a million dollars to defend the ban.

But pro-choice forces are determined to see the battle through. Thelma Underberg, a spokesperson for the South Dakota Chapter of Naral Pro-Choice America, told Workers World that based on the very positive response to petitioning, “I believe [the ban] has a good chance of being overturned. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families is planning a number of activities and strategies to keep the momentum going.”