This past weekend I traveled out to South Dakota to do what I could to do what I could to stop the religious right from in taking away a woman's basic right to control her own body. In November South Dakota voters will be deciding on Measure 11, a horribly restrictive law that would ban virtually all abortions state.
While proponents of the ban tell you that it would make exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is in danger the reality is that these so-called exceptions are so vaguely worded that they mean virtually nothing. Sure if a doctor thought a woman's life was in danger he could allow the woman to have an abortion, but what if someone were to challenge that doctor's decision? It turns out that if someone in the government thought questioned whether an abortion was not medically necessary to prevent the death of a woman, then that government bureaucrat could press felony charges on the doctor. Now what doctor do you think would perform in an abortion in any medical circumstance if they had a felony hanging over their head if anyone were to question their decision? Doctors know full well that the religious right opposes all abortions, and they know that there are people out there who would challenge any abortion no matter how medically necessary it was, and under Measure 11 that challenge could land them in prison.
And that rape and incest exception? Well the woman has to report their rape to the police within ten days of it happening, and incest victims must submit to genetic testing to prove they were abused by a member of their family. If a woman chooses to keep a traumatic experience private she can not get an abortion. If she gets raped and then finds out she is pregnant two weeks later it is too late to get the exception if she hasn't filed a police report.
And while we hear about the health of the mother exception what about the health of the fetus? Let's say a fetus was developing without vital organs that it needs for survival outside the womb. When a mother knows her baby has no chance for survival outside the womb for many abortion would be the least painful option in a very difficult situation. Under Measure 11 that would not be an option however, and Measure 11 a mother would have to carry the pregnancy to term and then deliver the baby just to watch it die. This is not hyperbole, this is what Measure 11 intends to turn into South Dakota law.
I spent the weekend phone banking, canvassing, and participating in a visibility event on a major intersection in Sioux Falls. I can tell you that the threat of Measure 11 passing is serious, there are a lot of people who are pushing this atrocity very hard and they have a chance at winning. But I talked to a lot of voters, and many of them are still undecided on this. Those undecided voters are going to decide the fate of Roe v. Wade, and we need to push as many of them to our side as possible. The margin for defeat or victory may be as little as a thousand votes, so we need every no vote we can get.
Please visit the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families website and see what you can do to help, and if you have means consider doing what I did and travel out to South Dakota because they could really use some volunteers.
We need to stop this referendum because if this passes it will most likely go to the Supreme Court, if the Supreme Court upholds the ban then Roe v. Wade will be null and void. Please, if this passes it will have national implications we need to do everything we can to help South Dakota to defeat this horrible referendum. Please contact the campaign and see what you can do to help out.
http://sdhealthyfamilies.org/
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