South Dakota Abortion Ban Out Of Step With Most Americans' Views, USA Today Editorial Says

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 04 Nov 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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"For all the furor over abortion in the past 35 years, Americans have remained remarkably steadfast in their opinions" on the issue, a USA Today editorial states. According to Gallup poll data, about 54% of Americans in May said that abortion should be legal under certain circumstances -- precisely the same number as in a 1975 Gallup poll -- and an additional 28% said abortion should be legal in all cases. Regardless, abortion-rights opponents are "no less determined to outlaw the practice," the editorial says.

The editorial cites as an example a South Dakota ballot measure to ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when a pregnant woman's health or life is in danger. Although voters in 2006 rejected a similar measure, supporters of this year's measure claim that the addition of the exceptions will produce a different outcome on Tuesday. The editorial urges voters to "read the fine print." It adds that the measure "would turn doctors into police" because they would first have to report rape or incest to law enforcement authorities before performing an abortion. The editorial adds that under the measure, a "young incest victim would have to choose between reporting her father or keeping a baby. The exception for a mother's health is also so restricted that it's almost meaningless."

South Dakota already has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the U.S., and the state only has one abortion clinic, the editorial says. It adds that "[p]assage of the ballot measure would likely set up a legal confrontation that could land at the U.S. Supreme Court. Which is, of course, the whole idea. Abortion foes want a vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade." According to the editorial, "Because abortion involves deeply held religious values, it isn't amenable to compromise, and surely no one should question opponents' commitment to the tenets of their faith. But if society more broadly is to treat abortion as a felony, which South Dakota would, then surely the requirement is a social consensus on the scale of those that support harsh treatment of all serious crimes." The editorial concludes, "After three decades of argument, most people are still on the other side" (USA Today, 10/31).

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