Thursday - February 23, 2006

Battleground

Forget the warring parties in the Middle East. There is about to be another meaner, nastier war right here in America. The opening salvo has been fired from South Dakota. Since South Dakota is in the middle of nowhere, none of the major Liberal forces showed up. No, they’re biding their time until the war moves to Washington, DC and the Supreme Court. Make no mistake. It is coming. You’d better strap on your combat helmets and hunker down in your foxholes. There will be incoming shortly ....

S.D. Closer to Strict Abortion Limits
February 23, 2006, 8:38 AM EST

PIERRE, S.D. (AP)

South Dakota moved closer to imposing some of the strictest limits on abortion in the nation as the state Senate approved legislation that would ban the procedure except when the woman’s life is in danger.

The bill, designed to spark a courtroom showdown over the legality of abortion, passed 23-12 Wednesday. On Thursday, it was headed back to the House, where lawmakers already approved similar legislation.

Republican Gov. Mike Rounds, a longtime abortion opponent, has said he would “look favorably” on an abortion ban if it would “save life.” Under the measure, doctors in South Dakota would face up to five years in prison for performing an abortion. The only exception would be for women who need abortions to save their lives.

“In my opinion, it is the time for the South Dakota Legislature to deal with this issue and protect the lives and rights of unborn children,” said Sen. Julie Bartling, a Democrat and the bill’s main sponsor. The legislation targets Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Opponents say it is too extreme and unconstitutional. Planned Parenthood, which operates the only clinic that provides abortions in South Dakota, pledged to challenge the measure if it become law.

“South Dakota’s ban is the most sweeping abortion ban passed by any state in more than a decade,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America lawyer Eve Gartner said in a written statement. She said the organization would do everything it could to ensure that women and their doctors, not politicians, made their health care decisions.

Supporters say an anonymous donor has pledged to provide South Dakota with $1 million to help defend the law in court. The recent appointment of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito make the U.S. Supreme Court more likely to consider overturning Roe v. Wade now, Bartling and other supporters said. “It is a calculated risk to be sure, but I believe it is a fight worth fighting,” said Sen. Brock Greenfield, a Republican who also is director of South Dakota Right to Life.

Some senators, including Republicans, were concerned that the legislation did not include exceptions for abortions in cases of rape or incest. Republican Sen. Stan Adelstein said it would be “a continued savagery unworthy of South Dakota” to make a woman bear a child if she becomes pregnant as the result of rape.

The Legislature passed a similar bill two years ago, but Rounds issued a technical veto because it would have wiped existing restrictions off the books while the bill was involved in a court challenge. Including Thursday, the Legislature has five days left before the official end of its session.

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/23/2006 at 09:39 AM   
Filed Under: • Abortion •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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