Effort emerges to put abortion ban on ballot

Argus Leader By Ben Shouse

The fog of the abortion war thickened Wednesday as the two sides released dueling opinion polls and abortion-rights advocates learned more about an unknown Wisconsin group that petitioned to put South Dakota's abortion ban to a vote.

Another group - Focus South Dakota, which has ties to the Democratic party - signaled Wednesday that a serious effort to put the issue on the November ballot now is taking shape.

Focus South Dakota and other groups will form an "umbrella organization" to circulate petitions to get the abortion ban on the ballot and run a campaign to overturn the law, the group said in a statement.

The plan calls for petitions to be available next week.

"From our point of view, it's a definite go, but there are a lot of other players in this," said Jeff Masten of Sioux Falls, vice-chairman of Focus South Dakota. He said his group was one of about a dozen considering a drive, and that one might go forward even without Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood will probably make a decision on its own drive next week, state director Kate Looby said.

Focus South Dakota also released a poll of 630 registered voters, which said 57 percent would vote to overturn the ban if it were put to a vote.

Leslee Unruh called the poll "deceptive," and her Abstinence Clearinghouse released data from a December phone survey that said 64 percent of South Dakota households consider themselves anti-abortion.

Gov. Mike Rounds signed the ban March 6.

Meanwhile, abortion-rights advocates tried to find out more about the Wisconsin group that filed petitions Tuesday to hold a referendum on the ban.

Noah Hahn-Walter of Waukesha said the group, which formed this year and is changing its name to Abortion Rights Action, is bowing out of the South Dakota fight.

"Our current plan is to just let the people in South Dakota send their petition in," he said, but his group would be available to help with organizing on campuses and in communities.

He said one problem that developed was that the petitions might not be complementary, so having his group go ahead could affect other petition efforts.

South Dakota has drawn national attention since the state Legislature passed a ban on almost all abortions. Abortion-rights advocates might sue to block the law from taking effect, and they also might seek the 16,728 signatures needed to put the law to a vote in November.

Hahn-Walter and his group - which was at the time called Basic-Abortion-Rights Network - beat them to the referendum idea Tuesday.

"Nobody has ever heard of this person. He's not a local activist, he's not a member of any group," Kelda Roys, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, said from Milwaukee.

"Our group is interested in this issue. We saw it as a big violation of the Constitution and a big violation of liberty," Hahn-Walter said. "We were just interested, me and a couple friends of mine."

Unruh, a proponent of the ban, said the events show a lack of organization by her opposition.

"I'm hearing a lot of things that are making us giggle over here. I've got to say, this has been the most fun we've had since the thing started," she said.

Looby said in-state groups were unhappy with the Wisconsin group's decision. "There is some level of irritation there, I think, in that intrusion." But she added that the group probably will not be a player.

"I don't think this outfit from Wisconsin is well-enough organized to do a petition drive," she said. "If a decision is made to put this on the ballot by people in South Dakota, I think you'll see, really, a groundswell of support... and that the people of South Dakota will understand that this is driven by their friends and neighbors."

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said multiple petition drives are allowed. Residents may sign multiple petitions, but the drives may not combine signatures. Battle of the polls

With a statewide referendum now a real possibility, both sides released surveys purportedly showing they have the support of voters. The early bursts of poll results could be the beginnings of a blizzard of data meant to shape public opinion and policy.

Focus South Dakota sponsored the poll suggesting the ban would be overturned if it does go to a referendum. The survey, done by Robinson and Muenster Associates of Sioux Falls, also says 72 percent of South Dakotans favor putting the ban on the ballot.

Jim Robinson, of the survey firm, also is an organizer of Focus South Dakota.Of the 57 percent who said they would vote to overturn the ban, 47 percent said they were "strongly" for overturning it, whereas 30 percent are strongly for keeping it, the survey said.

But Unruh called it a "deception poll" because of the group's ties to the Democratic party and national abortion rights groups.

She said if the bill is referred to the voters, the 64 percent of South Dakotans who are pro-life will vote to uphold it, even those who want a less restrictive law.

"I think the people who would want the additional exceptions would still vote with this," she said. "Everyone agrees there are too many abortions, so here's a chance to do something about it."

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reach Ben Shouse at 331-2318.

WHAT'S NEXT

Noah Hahn-Walter of Abortion Rights Action of Waukesha, Wis., said his group is withdrawing from the South Dakota fight.

Other abortion-rights advocates might seek the 16,728 signatures needed to put the law to a vote in November.

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said multiple petition drives are allowed, but they can't pool their signatures.

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