S.D. Coalition Calls On Gov. Rounds To Develop Strategy To Address Unplanned Pregnancies, Abortion

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 28 Apr 2008 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

A South Dakota coalition of nine women's groups on Monday delivered a letter to Gov. Mike Rounds (R) urging him to form a task force to develop "practical solutions" to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies and the "need for abortion" in the state, as outlined in South Dakota's 2010 strategy, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports.

Representatives from the groups announced their request -- which does not offer specific strategies to address unplanned pregnancies or a timeline -- at separate news conferences in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, S.D. (Gruchow, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 4/23). The coalition includes the American Association of University Women, NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota, the National Women's Political Caucus, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, the South Dakota Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the South Dakota chapters of the National Organization for Women and the League of Women Voters. Rounds spokesperson Mitch Krebs said that the governor has not yet seen the coalition's letter. Krebs said Rounds will respond as soon as he can.

Cynthia Hilton -- chair of the group Democracy in Action and spokesperson for the coalition -- at the Rapid City news conference said she hopes the governor's strategy will involve more than encouraging abstinence among young people. "There's study after study that shows" abstinence-only education programs are not effective, Hilton said. She added that the coalition believes public education should be at the center of the campaign and that Rounds should utilize state programs and health experts in developing a strategy.

Hilton said teens should receive broad information about sex, as well as support to prevent pregnancy. She cited CDC statistics that one-third of unplanned pregnancies result in abortion. Anne Barlow of the South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women said the coalition wants to see a decrease in the "alarming numbers" of unplanned pregnancies, adding that the coalition believes Rounds "has the resources to make this happen" (Woster, Rapid City Journal, 4/22).

Kimberly Martinez, executive director of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, said the request "muddles the already-mixed message sent to children about the reliability of contraception and the advantages of abstinence." She added that what the coalition does not "say is that their common-sense solution is giving more condoms and contraceptives to kids" (Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 4/23).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2008 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.