SD Association of OBGYNs Announces Opposition to Abortion Ban

SIOUX FALLS, SD – The consensus that Initiated Measure 11 is wrong for South Dakota continues to grow among the state’s medical community.  This week, the South Dakota Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) announced their official opposition to the abortion ban, condemning it as “deceptive and dangerous.”

While supporters of the ban continue to deceive voters, claiming that Initiated Measure 11 will not interfere with a physician’s medical judgment, ACOG points out that “This ban harms the women of South Dakota, it jeopardizes health care within our state, and it strips South Dakota residents of their fundamental right to appropriate and safe medical care without government interference.”

ACOG finds many grounds on which to oppose the ban.  It calls the so-called health exception “ambiguous” and states that it imposes a “practical burden on physicians and an ethical dilemma.” Their statement criticizes the abortion bans lack of exception for fatal fetal anomalies and expresses concern that the ban would obstruct “women’s access to contraceptives.”

“The ACOG opposition to Initiated Measure 11 is just more consensus over how dangerous this ban is for the women and families of South Dakota,” says Campaign for Healthy Families Rapid City OBGYN and ACOG member Dr. Marvin Buehner.  “ACOG has come out with serious concerns about this measure’s implications.  The voters of South Dakota deserve to know the truth:  this is Government intrusion at it’s worst.“

See ACOG’s statement opposing Measure 11:  http://www.acog.org/acog_sections/sd/20081021statement.pdf

ACOG is the nation’s leading group of professionals providing health care for women. It is a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization.  ACOG physicians provide women’s health care and manage most of the 11,914 births in South Dakota each year.