South Dakota moving closer to abortion ban

Legislation in South Dakota against procured abortions (except where the mother's life is in danger...) takes another step:

"The House passed the bill 50 to 18 on Friday, and the Senate approved it 23 to 12 earlier this week. If signed, it will become law July 1."

"Under the measure, an illegal abortion could mean a prison sentence of up to five years for a physician"

Planned Parenthood is currently the only abortion provider in the state, but needless to say, legislation prohibiting abortion in even one state is a good sign.

I've especially enjoyed some of the AP's coverage of the story (underlining mine):

The ban, including in cases of rape or incest, was approved Friday by South Dakota lawmakers, setting up a deliberate frontal assault on Roe v. Wade at a time when some activists see the U.S. Supreme as more willing than ever to overturn the 33-year-old decision.

"deliberate frontal assault" - that's objective journalism for you...

As usual, pro-abortion folks are claiming that the legislation would impact rape victims and poor women:

If a rape victim becomes pregnant and bears a child, the rapist could have the same parental rights as the mother, said Krista Heeren-Graber, executive director of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault.

"The idea the rapist could be in the child's life ... makes the woman very, very fearful. Sometimes they need to have choice," Heeren-Graber said.

The president of the local abortion-alternative counseling center responded:

...most [abortions] do not stem from rape or even failed contraception, but are simply "conveniences."

Unruh said she believes most South Dakota women want the state to ban abortion, and many who have had abortions "wish someone would have stopped them."

Now, here's a suprising (for me) and encouraging aspect of the story. Normally, it always seems that abortion-advocates have the big bucks - well, at least we're making a somewhat decent showing this time:

But even before the bill has a signature, money to defend it poured in. Lawmakers were told during the debate that an anonymous donor pledged $1 million to defend the ban, and the Legislature was setting up a special account to accept donations.

"We've had people stopping in our office trying to drop off checks to promote the defense of this legislation already," Rounds [the Governor] said.

Even though I'm sure a million bucks is a drop in the bucket for Planned Parenthood, it's still good to see both grassroots supporters and individuals of means promoting the culture of life at crucial times - and it's also gratifying to finally see some elected officials [in this case, Mike Rounds] demonstrate the courage of their convictions:

"I've indicated I'm pro-life and I do believe abortion is wrong and that we should do everything we can to save lives. If this bill accomplishes that, then I am inclined to sign the bill into law," he said.

Needless to say, I suggest reading about this development - I'll see if I can find any websites lending more information on the topic. This one seems to have come out of the blue in many ways... oh well - aren't the best things normally unlooked-for?