Victory for the Culture of Death?

Abortion advocates scored a victory in South Dakota.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota voters this fall will decide the fate of a law that would ban most abortions in the state, Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Monday.

Nelson said opponents of the measure have gathered enough signatures to refer the law passed by the Legislature to a statewide public vote in the Nov. 7 election.

...[I]nstead of challenging the measure in court, opponents gathered enough petition signatures to put the abortion ban on the fall ballot.

The abortion ban was scheduled to take effect July 1, but the referral means the law will be suspended pending the outcome of the public vote. Voters will decide whether to accept or reject the measure.

I wonder how many of those signatures are legitimate.

How many of the signatories live in vacant lots or died years ago?

I'm sure there are some.

I can understand why abortion advocates consider it a victory that they have delayed the South Dakota ban on most abortions until the November elections.

Between now and November, more lives will end under the guise of choice. That's what pro-abortion proponents fight for. Yes, it will be easier for South Dakota women to deny their babies life, at least until the vote occurs.

Still, any woman really bent on preventing her baby from being born would find a way to get the job done. I doubt that those lives would have been spared if the ban began on July 1.

Let's face it. Had the measure taken effect, abortion advocates would have been crawling all over South Dakota and bussing women to the closest abortion facility. Sad and sick, but true.

The only upside to the delay is that the issue will be put right into the hands of the citizens. ALL the people will have a voice in the matter, not just a handful of people in black robes.

I know the Culture of Death advocates will use the delay to organize. Resources will be poured into South Dakota to defeat the ban. People will work tirelessly to make sure that the unborn can be killed.

Even if the people vote to accept the measure, there will be a court challenge. That's a given.

Although I like that South Dakotans will have the opportunity to be heard, the problem is it's a meaningless vote.

In the end, whatever the election outcome, the people will not directly have the final say. Access to abortion in South Dakota, or any other state for that matter, will be decided by judges.

Anti-abortion activists were looking for a court challenge by passing the measure in South Dakota. Eventually, they'll get it.

And meanwhile, women will continue to choose to have doctors perform procedures to end their babies' lives.



"To promote choice for its own sake is more akin to self-indulgence than self-determination. It is the philosophy of a pre-schooler in a candy shop."

--BRIAN POLLARD, M.D.