South Dakota Abortion Ban Takes Aim At National Stage
February 23, 2006

By EVELYN NIEVES, Washington Post South Dakota lawmakers approved the nation's most far-reaching ban on abortion Wednesday, setting the stage for new legal challenges that its supporters say they hope leads to an overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

The measure, which passed the state Senate 23-12, makes it a felony for doctors to perform any abortion, except to save the life of a pregnant woman. The proposal still needs the signature of Republican Gov. Mike Rounds, who opposes abortion.

The law was designed to challenge the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe, which in 1973 recognized the right of women to terminate pregnancies. Its sponsors want to force a re-examination of the ruling by the new members of the court, which include two justices appointed by President Bush.

"The momentum for a change in the national policy on abortion is going to come in the not-too-distant future," said Rep. Roger W. Hunt, a Republican who sponsored the bill.

Abortion opponents succeeded in defeating all amendments designed to mitigate the ban, including exceptions in the case of rape or incest or the health of the woman.

Hunt said that such "special circumstances" would have diluted the bill and its effect on the national scene.

Kate Looby, director of Planned Parenthood of South Dakota, which plans to challenge the ban, said that while she was not surprised, she was still a "little shocked" by the vote.

"Clearly, this is a devastating day for the women of South Dakota," she said. "We fully expected this, yet it's still distressing to know that this legislative body cares so little about women, about families, about women who are victims of rape or incest."

National abortion-rights organizations said that the South Dakota vote has set the stage for a new fight to keep abortion legal nationally and in the states.

"When you see them have a ban that does not include exceptions for rape or incest or the health of the mother, you understand that elections do matter," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "We will be very active in '06 and in '08 in electing candidates that represent the views of most Americans."

The anti-abortion movement has focused primarily in recent years on a state-by-state effort to enact restrictions on access to abortion, including pushes for parental notification laws and waiting periods before the procedure can be performed.

A 1992 Supreme Court decision again affirmed a right to abortion in a Pennsylvania case, known as Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which said that states cannot put an "undue burden" on women getting access to abortions.

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