September 20, 2006
Ad Spotlight: South Dakota Abortion Ban
The most contentious battle in South Dakota has nothing to do with elected office. But expect voters to come out in droves on Nov. 7 anyway.
The reason: Referred Law 6, a ballot measure that would enact the tightest restrictions on access to abortion in the country. The legislation permits abortions only when the life of the mother is imperiled, and when it was signed into law by South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) earlier this year, it sparked a furor in the national pro-choice movement.
A group called the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families released a TV ad Monday reminding viewers of the most controversial aspects of the bill. "Should a woman who's the victim of rape or incest be left with no option?" an announcer asks. "What about the mother whose health would be seriously threatened?"
It is reasonable to assume that the law would be ruled prima facie unconstitutional by lower courts. When the court last considered the central holdings of Roe v. Wade, in 1992, a plurality declared that exceptions must be made "for the preservation of the life or health of the mother." As a result, most state abortion laws do just that, as well as provide exceptions in the cases of rape or incest -- politically popular exceptions supported by President Bush.
But the legislation did not immediately wend its way through the judicial system as its backers expected. Rather, opponents used a state law provision allowing voters to have the final say. And it seems likely South Dakotans will say nay: A Mason-Dixon poll conducted in late July found voters opposed the ban, 47 percent to 39 percent. The number of supporters shot up to 59 when exceptions for rape or incest were included in the bill.
A group backing the ban, VoteYesForLife.com, would not say whether it planned on releasing ads in the run-up to the November vote. But a statement released Monday sought to pick apart the ad and charged that the law would give "the additional option of over the counter sales of the so-called 'morning after pill.'" The statement did not say that the option is available to victims of rape or incest only, with a doctor's approval.
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Posted at 02:22 PM
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