South Dakota Abortion Ban Defeated

A leading supporter of the initiative, said the division amongst the pro-life groups caused a lot of confusion among voters.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (LifeSiteNews) - Results from Tuesday's election indicate that South Dakotans have again rejected a ban on abortion by voting down Measure 11 by a 55-45 margin.

In 2006 the state Legislature passed a bill that prohibited all abortion in the state except in those cases where continuing a pregnancy would pose a medical threat to the mother's life; opponents of the bill, however, successfully circulated petitions to place it on that year's general election ballot.

That measure was rejected by voters in the 2006 election by a margin of 56-44 percent, due to a pro-abortion campaign which concentrated on the bill's exclusion of exceptions in cases of rape.

The defeated Measure 11 included the exceptions for allowing abortion in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest as well as the exception of substantial risk of serious permanent injury or death to the mother.

These exceptions were a point of contention amongst pro-life advocates during this campaign, with some leaders of South Dakota Right To Life (SDRTL), which supported the 2006 measure, urging voters to reject the measure on the grounds that the watered-down version was a betrayal of pro-life principles.

The Vote Yes For Life campaign, which supported the measure, commented on their website (http://voteyesforlife.com/index2.html) that SDRTL opposed the measure because, "These few leaders of SDRTL want an abortion bill that bans all abortions without exceptions. They want the bill that was rejected by the voters of South Dakota in 2006, precisely because that law did not have exceptions for rape, incest and where there was substantial risk of serious injury to the mother."

Leslee Unruh, a leading supporter of the initiative, said the division amongst the pro-life groups caused a lot of confusion among voters; this confusion may have contributed to the defeat of the measure.

The abortion ban's supporters have vowed not to stop at this defeat, however. "We're coming back. We're not going away. ... Third time's the charm," Mrs. Unruh told the LA Times.

Opponents of the ban aren't concerned about women's health, Mrs. Unruh said. "They just want abortion on demand. That's their concern."

Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue, one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the US, said today that pro-life setbacks in this election will only re-energize the fight for life.

"Yesterday's losses are just a speed bump on the road to victory for the innocent," said Mr. Newman. "Overall, Americans are more pro-life than ever before. The closeness of the votes on pro-life measures in South Dakota and in California shows that we have made great gains amongst the people. Election cycles tend to be cyclical, and we are confident that we will once again have our day."

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"Now is not the time for discouragement," Mr. Newman concluded, "but a time to roll up our sleeves and continue the fight, having peace knowing that the result is in God's hands and, ultimately, victory is assured."

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