South Dakota voters will now have the choice on whether the draconian law signed by Republican Governor Mike Rounds outlawing abortions remains the law of the land in South Dakota. That’s right, the Secretary of State of South Dakota, Chris Nelson, announced this morning that he has certified the petitions from the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families and will place HB 1215, the extreme ban on abortions on the November ballot.

From the AP:

Voters will have the final say on South Dakota’s tough new law that bans almost all abortions.

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Monday that the law’s opponents had collected enough signatures to put a question on the Nov. 7 ballot asking voters if the law should go into effect as planned or be dumped.

The state’s abortion law, among the strictest in the nation, bans the procedure in all cases except when necessary to save a woman’s life, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Supporters hoped it would prompt a court challenge that would give the U.S. Supreme Court an opportunity to overturn its 1973 Roe. v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Read the rest of the article here.

Check out the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families for more information on how you can get involved in one of the most important fights in 2006.

Governor Mike Rounds = Out of Touch

As many of you know, South Dakota recently passed the most draconian anti-abortion law in the country. Just yesterday, The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families said it turned in twice as many signatures as it needed to in order to hold a statewide ballot vote in November on whether to repeal this disgusting law. From the WaPo:

Jan Nicolay, co-chairwoman of the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, said she believes it would be the nation’s first statewide election on abortion since Roe v. Wade. Opponents of the ban decided to pursue a popular vote instead of filing a lawsuit.

“We would prefer this be dealt with by the people of the state of South Dakota and not spend a lot of money fighting a legal battle,” Nicolay said.

Leslee Unruh, an abortion opponent who lobbied for the ban, said she believes South Dakotans will do what is right. “I believe we are a pro-life state,” she said.

This is not a lost cause. We can change this awful law.