South Dakota Abortion Ban Back In 'Sheep's Clothing,' Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 09 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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In an opinion piece, Salon columnist Lynn Harris says that a proposal to ban abortion in South Dakota is back in "sheep's clothing" on the November ballot. According to Harris, polls showed the primary "liability" of a 2006 proposal to ban abortion, which was defeated by a 55% to 44% margin, was that it contained "virtually no exceptions." According to Harris, Leslie Unruh of VoteYesForLife.com, the group supporting the ban, calls the revised ballot measure "more moderate, more reasonable, more of a middle ground."

However, Harris claims that proponents of the 2008 ban, titled Initiated Measure 11, added "convoluted exceptions for rape, incest and, when there is a full moon and Mount Rushmore spouts Strawberry Quik, the health or life of the woman." She says proponents of the ban are "aiming to get the job done" and ban abortion entirely. Harris points to comments made by Marvin Buehner -- a Rapid City, S.D., physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies -- reported by the Washington Post that the law would "amount to a total ban" because the risk for doctors to be penalized for violating it would be too high. Buehner also said, "If there's a risk of a Class 4 felony if I don't meet the ambiguous standard of 'serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily organ or system,' there's no way I would consider doing an abortion for health reasons. This represents incredible government interference in the practice of medicine."

Harris writes, "If passed on Nov. 4, this supremely unconstitutional ban would likely be enjoined immediately. That's no salve. We don't want this perpetration anywhere near the books -- or, more to the point, the Supreme Court" (Harris, Salon, 10/8).

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