A quick read from the South Dakota Searchlight staff reports on a new development in the state's struggle over reproductive rights. See the related posts at the bottom of this article for earlier development.
35 church leaders endorse South Dakota abortion-rights ballot measure
A coalition of Christian clergy members announced support Tuesday for a ballot measure that would establish the right to an abortion in the South Dakota constitution.
The 35 faith leaders are from five Christian denominations — the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ.
“Our pastoral care experiences have taught us that complicated health care decisions are best left to the patient in consultation with families and health care providers, and as part of faith conversations,” the group wrote. “This should happen without interference from politicians or the courts.”
On the other side of the debate, the South Dakota Catholic Conference has taken a stance against the ballot measure and is encouraging Catholics to vote no.
Voters will decide on the constitutional amendment in the Nov. 5 general election, with early and absentee voting beginning Friday.
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, a trigger law that the South Dakota Legislature had adopted in 2005 immediately banned abortions in the state except when necessary to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
The proposed amendment would prohibit regulation of abortion during the first trimester. In the second trimester, regulations would be allowed if they are reasonably related to the pregnant woman’s physical health. During the third trimester, abortion could be regulated or prohibited, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman, as determined by her physician’s medical judgment.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit from a group called Life Defense Fund that aims to invalidate the ballot measure is scheduled for trial next week. The group alleges various legal infractions by the petition circulators who gathered signatures to place the measure on the ballot.
This South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Photo: A Sioux Falls resident votes in the city and school board election at Southern Hills United Methodist Church on April 9, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)/
Related posts
- Update on SD rights: Abortion ballot measure challenge on course for late September trial
- South Dakota secretary of state now a defendant in Life Defense Fund abortion rights case
- Abortion rights measure likely to appear on South Dakota ballot, but lawsuit could affect election results
- South Dakota State Supreme Court revives legal challenge to abortion-rights ballot measure
- South Dakota father is leading effort to restore abortion rights in the state
- South Dakota doctors form group to support state abortion-rights ballot measure
- Anti-abortion group appeals judge's ruling on abortion rights amendment to SD Supreme Cour
- Reproductive rights update: former South Dakota legislator establishes Republican group to support abortion-rights amendment
- What's up with the lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure
- Mifepristone ruling digest: SCOTUS rejects attempt to limit access to abortion pill; doesn't change South Dakota’s existing ban
- SD News Watch poll shows South Dakota abortion amendment holds nearly 20-point lead
- South Dakota's Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson runs afoul of anti-abortion groups after labeling their phone calls a ‘scam’
- ACLU, Planned Parenthood North Central States, SD Justice Empowerment Network don’t support ballot measure aiming to restore abortion access
- At SD Democratic Party reproductive rights rally, Sioux Falls Rep. Duba shares her abortion story
- In South Dakota, where abortion is now outlawed, college students ramp up activism
- SD News Watch: SD women evade abortion ban by accessing medication in neighboring states
- View from the Coteau: a tale of two states in the wake of SCOTUS's Dobbs v. Jackson decision
- Abortion poll: Is South Dakota the next Kansas?
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