South Dakota a bellwether on abortion for other states
- Oct 22, 2008
News that the last surviving founder of the abortion organization NARAL and the two women who represented the “Roe” and “Doe” of the 1973 Supreme Court decisions that legalized abortion on demand are joining forces this fall on the issue of abortion might not come as a shock to many. What might come as a surprise, however, is that they are pushing not the advancement of the billion-dollar abortion business, but instead its eradication, beginning in South Dakota.
The three, now ardent pro-lifers and buoyed by scores of pro-life groups and former abortion doctors, are part of a Vote Yes for Life campaign supporting a ballot initiative in South Dakota that would wipe out roughly 98 percent of would-be abortions in the state.
In two weeks, South Dakotans will determine the future of abortion in their state by choosing whether or not to approve Measure 11 to ban abortions statewide, with exceptions for the rare cases of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother.
The South Dakota pro-life movement, tactically seasoned from a defeat two years ago, has a real shot at victory. The 2006 ballot initiative to ban abortions included only the life of the mother exception and came up short, 45 percent to 55 percent. The addition of the rape and incest exceptions to the redrawn initiative—though the two cases constituted only 0.4 percent of South Dakota abortions in 2006—could make all the difference. The carefully crafted rape reporting requirements will also help prevent fraudulent claims and shift reporting from police stations to hospitals, where the women and girls are tested for abusers’ DNA.
Anyone who is ready to brush aside South Dakota, assuming that what happens in the far reaches of the Great Plains will bear little, if any, impact on the other 49 states, should think twice. South Dakota is a bellwether for the rest of the nation. Success on Measure 11 could breed similar anti-abortion initiatives in states across the country. But defeat would greatly diminish that hope. Passage of Measure 11 could also set the stage for a future battle in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Americans are more united in their views on abortion than purveyors of the industry would have us to believe. While it is true that the country is split on whether abortion should be legal, abortion groups conveniently fail to mention that a strong majority of Americans want some restrictions on abortion.
A recent poll reported Oct. 17 in the Washington Times found that 84 percent of Americans say “abortion should be significantly restricted.” Even 71 percent of pro-choice individuals want significant restrictions on abortion, and 28 percent of pro-choicers want to limit abortion “only to cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.” Those figures ought to encourage the pro-life movement.
But Measure 11 supporters should not get comfortable and score it as a win yet. The big three abortion advocates—Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the ACLU—have mounted a full force campaign aimed at sinking the measure. Money streaming in from around the country has given them a hefty war chest, while financial support for Measure 11 has been paltry by comparison. Advertising costs are low in South Dakota, meaning a small gift can go a long way. What a tragedy it would be if the measure were lost, and perhaps as a consequence scuttled similar efforts in other states, due to scarce funding.
Bernard Nathanson, NARAL’s lone surviving founder and a presider of 75,000 abortions, laments in a television ad for Measure 11: “One of our [NARAL’s] strategies in order to mislead the American public was to deny what we knew to be true, that an abortion kills an existing human being. This was the greatest mistake of my life and the greatest mistake in our nation’s history.”
Americans should help Nathanson, now 82, write a new chapter of history. On the issue of abortion, as South Dakota goes, so too could go the nation. We should all pray that the bell will toll for life in South Dakota on Nov. 4.
For more information:
Visit VoteYesForLife.com to learn more about Measure 11 or to give a contribution.
Listen to Richard Land Live! guest host Dr. Barrett Duke discuss Measure 11 with Dr. Allen Unruh: Hour 1 and Hour 3.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing bulletin inserts or other materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Life, Abortion, Citizenship, Legislation