The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families is Door-Knocking Across the State!
We want to know, "Have you had enough?"
Just last year, South Dakota voters rejected an abortion ban. That election created a bitter debate that pitted neighbor against neighbor and divided our communities. State legislators have done enough. Now it's up to South Dakota's families.
It's time to heal and move forward. Sign this petition and ask the South Dakota Legislature to please stop fighting over abortion and dividing our communities and to spend more time focusing on issues such as health care, education funding, and economic development.
Click here to sign the petition and tell the legislature that YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH!
Abortion Ban Supporters at Odds with Constituencies
Voters in Vast Majority of Legislative Districts Rejected the Abortion Ban
SIOUX FALLS, SD – A post-election report released today by the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families provides some telling insight into the election results for Referred Law 6.
- While HB 1215 passed the House by a vote of 50 to 18 and the Senate by a vote of 23 to 12 in 2006, the measure failed in a statewide vote by a margin of 11 percentage points (55.5% to 44.5%).
- In 32 of 35 Legislative Districts, over 50% voted to overturn the abortion ban.
- Of the 73 Representatives who voted in favor of HB 1215, 62 were effectively vetoed as a majority of their constituents voted No on Referred Law 6.
- In 43 out of 66 counties, over 50% of voters rejected the abortion ban.
"In terms of banning abortion, the voters have spoken," commented Jan Nicolay, co-chair of the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families. "South Dakotans oppose government intrusion into what is a very personal, private and difficult decision between a woman, her family and her doctor. As we head into the 2007 Legislative Session both the newly elected and returning representatives should focus on substantive matters facing our state, rather than divisive social issues."
Statewide examples of legislators voting contrary to the will of their constituencies:
- District 10 is home to the prime sponsor of the abortion ban, Rep. Roger Hunt, as well as fellow Republicans Rep. Shantel Krebs and Sen. Gene Abdallah. All three of these legislators voted in favor of the abortion ban. 54% of voters in District 10 voted to overturn the ban.
- District 15 is represented by three Democrats: Rep. Kathy Miles, Rep Mary Glenski and Sen. Gil Koetzle. While all three of these legislators voted in favor of the abortion ban, 61% of their constituents voted to overturn it.
- All three representatives for Districts 15, 24, 30, 31 and 35 voted in support of HB1215. In each of these Districts more than 60% of voters rejected the abortion ban.
Copies of the complete report are available here.
Judge to decide whether lawmaker must reveal who donated to abortion campaign
By MONICA LaBELLE
Argus Leader
January 2, 2007
Attorney General Larry Long wants a judge to force a Brandon lawmaker to reveal who helped finance a group that supported South Dakota’s proposed ban on most abortions.
A judge is now expected to decide whether it was legal for state Rep. Roger Hunt to refuse to identify the source of $750,000 to abortion opponents.
Long filed court papers asking for a ruling on whether Hunt, a Republican, violated campaign finance laws by not revealing the donor’s identity.
The money ended up going to the VoteYesForLife organization.
Read more on this story in the Argus Leader.
Rapid City Journal Editorial
Editor's note: The year’s biggest stories revolved around life and death.The South Dakota Legislature made national headlines by passing legislation establishing a near-total ban on abortions, which voters subsequently rejected. Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Rounds issued a last-minute postponement in the scheduled execution of Elijah Page, over what Rounds said was a discrepancy in the state law. It was a year of shocking news and shocking upsets, botched elections and blazing wildfires.
After one of the most divisive political campaigns in state history, voters in November rejected a law passed by the 2007 state Legislature to ban most abortions in South Dakota.
The law was overwhelmingly approved as HB1215 by the House and Senate and signed in early March by Gov. Mike Rounds. It would have prohibited abortions in South Dakota, except when the procedure was needed to save a woman’s life.
Approval of the law attracted national media attention and a threat of legal action from Planned Parenthood. It also inspired opponents to begin an aggressive petition drive that gathered 38,000 signatures, more than twice the number required to refer the law to a public vote.
The key issue throughout the campaign was the law’s lack of exceptions that would allow women impregnated through rape or incest or suffering serious health problems to get abortions legally. Public opinion polls indicated that a majority of South Dakota voters supported abortion restrictions, if they allowed those exceptions.
Without those much-debated exceptions, voters rejected the law -- which appeared on the Nov. 7 general-election ballot as Referred Law 6 -- 55 percent to 45 percent.
Read more in the Rapid City Journal.
South Dakota voters reject abortion ban
Argus Leader
By staff and wire reports
PUBLISHED: November 7, 2006
A ballot measure that would ban nearly all abortions in South Dakota was rejected on Tuesday.
With 703 of the 818 precincts reporting, opponents of the ban had 55 percent of the vote to the supporters’ 45 percent.
Jan Nicolay, leader of the group seeking to reject the measure, said the returns indicate that voters understood that the proposed law was too extreme because it did not include exceptions for rape, incest or the health of a pregnant woman.
Lance Weber, 49, of Sturgis said he does not like abortion but voted against the measure because it would not allow abortions for rape and incest.
"I still feel like there is a gray area in that particular matter, and I feel there needs to be some exceptions," Weber told The Associated Press.
Read more in the Argus Leader.
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