South Dakota governor signs key anti-abortion law

CHET BROKAW, Associated Press Writer
15 minutes ago

PIERRE, S.D. - Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation Monday banning nearly all abortions in South Dakota, setting up a court fight aimed at challenging the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

The bill would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. It would make no exception
for cases of rape or incest.

Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's only abortion clinic, in
Sioux Falls, has pledged to challenge the measure in court. Rounds issued a
written statement saying he expects the law will be tied up in court for years
and will not take effect unless the U.S. Supreme Court upholds it.

"In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society. The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children arethe most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with
them," Rounds said in the statement.

The governor declined all media requests for interviews Monday.

The Legislature passed the bill last month after supporters argued that the
recent appointment of conservative justices John Roberts and
Samuel Alito have made the U.S. Supreme Court more likely to overturn
Roe v. Wade.

South Dakota's abortion ban is to take effect July 1, but a federal judge is
likely to suspend it during a legal challenge.

Rounds has said abortion opponents already are offering money to help the
state pay legal bills for the anticipated court challenge. Lawmakers said an anonymous donor has pledged $1 million to defend the ban, and the Legislature
set up a special account to accept donations for legal fees.

Under the new law, doctors could get up to five years in prison for
performing an illegal abortion.

Rounds previously issued a technical veto of a similar bill passed two years
ago because it would have wiped out all existing restrictions on abortion
while the bill was tied up for years in a court challenge.

The statement he issued Monday noted that this year's bill was written to
make sure existing restrictions will be enforced during the legal battle.
Current state law sets increasingly stringent restrictions on abortions as
pregnancy progresses. After the 24th week, the procedure is allowed only to
protect the woman's health and safety.

About 800 abortions are performed each year in South Dakota. Planned
Parenthood has said other women cross state lines to reach clinics.

AND~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The governor of South Dakota
on Monday signed into law severe restrictions on abortion, in a direct
challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court's legalization of the practice
33 years ago.

Abortion foes have said they hope to use the South Dakota law to
eventually bring the issue back before the high court, where they believe conservatives added to the bench by President George W. Bush in the
last year could weaken or dismantle the court's landmark Roe vs Wade
decision of 1973.

Supporters of Roe v. Wade have promised a legal challenge to the
new South Dakota law.

Republican Gov. Mike Rounds inked the measure, which had been passed
by the state legislature on February 24, after a review to make sure
there were no technical problems.

Rounds, who has described the legislation as a "frontal assault" on
Roe v. Wade, had vetoed a similar measure two years ago, saying it would
have wiped out existing restrictions on abortion while it was fought in
the courts.

The new law bans abortion in virtually all cases, punishing doctors who
perform one with a $5,000 fine and five years in prison.

The measure bans abortion even in cases where a woman is pregnant as a
result of rape or incest, or if giving birth would damage the health of
the mother. It creates a narrow exemption in cases in which a physician's
effort to save a pregnant woman's life results in the accidental death or
injury of her fetus.

Planned Parenthood operates the sole clinic in South Dakota that
provides abortions. About 800 are performed there each year by doctors
from neighboring Minnesota. The group has said it will challenge the
law in court.

There has been a grass-roots state-by-state campaign in recent years by
anti-abortion opponents to find a vehicle by which to challenge the high
court's 1973 decision.

They believe an increasingly conservative court will be more disposed to
dismantling the earlier decision should something like the South Dakota
measure ever reach the justices.
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So, now. Any thoughts or comments on this one??? I am personally
extremely in favor of this, but I welcome input from other opinions.
Any takers???

Athosxc