The South Dakota Supreme Court has reversed a judge’s ruling from last month that dismissed a lawsuit aiming to remove an abortion rights initiative from the November ballot.
The court on Friday reversed the order of dismissal and sent the case back for further proceedings. The anti-abortion group Life Defense Fund had appealed Judge John Pekas’s ruling that dismissed its lawsuit seeking to invalidate the measure. The group alleged myriad wrongdoing related to petition circulators.
In a statement, Life Defense Fund co-chair Leslee Unruh said the group is thrilled the court expedited the case and sent it back to the lower court.
“(Measure leader) Rick Weiland and his paid posse have broken laws, tricked South Dakotans into signing their abortion petition, left petitions unattended, and much more. Dakotans for Health illegally gathered signatures to get Amendment G on the ballot, therefore this measure should not be up for a vote this November,” she said.
The Associated Press emailed a request for comment to Dakotans for Health, the group that brought the measure. Measure backers submitted about 54,000 petition signatures in May. Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office later validated the measure for the ballot.
The measure would bar the state from regulating “a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation” in the first trimester, but it would allow second-trimester regulations “only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.”
The constitutional amendment would allow the state to regulate or prohibit abortion in the third trimester, “except when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.”
South Dakota outlaws abortion as a felony crime except in instances to save the life of the mother, under a trigger law that took effect in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion.
Abortion-rights supporters have prevailed on all seven statewide abortion ballot questions since the Dobbs decision. Voters in several other states are set to weigh in as well later this year.
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Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.
A recent court ruling in South Dakota has cast doubt on the future of an abortion rights measure that was set to appear on the upcoming November ballot. The measure, known as Initiated Measure 26, sought to protect the right to abortion in the state by enshrining it in the state constitution. However, a circuit court judge has ruled that the measure is unconstitutional, citing a technicality in the way it was written.
The ruling has sparked controversy and debate among pro-choice and anti-abortion activists in the state. Proponents of the measure argue that it is necessary to protect women’s reproductive rights and ensure access to safe and legal abortion services. They point to the recent wave of restrictive abortion laws passed in other states as evidence of the need for such protections.
Opponents of the measure, on the other hand, argue that it goes too far in enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. They believe that the issue should be left up to the legislature to decide, rather than being codified in the constitution. They also argue that the measure is too broad and could potentially open the door to late-term abortions and other controversial practices.
The court ruling has left both sides in limbo, unsure of what will happen next. Proponents of the measure have vowed to appeal the decision, while opponents are preparing for a potential legal battle. In the meantime, voters are left wondering whether they will have the opportunity to weigh in on this important issue in November.
Regardless of the outcome, the ruling in South Dakota serves as a reminder of the ongoing battle over abortion rights in this country. With the Supreme Court poised to potentially overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion nationwide, states are taking matters into their own hands to protect or restrict access to abortion services.
As the debate rages on, it is clear that abortion rights will continue to be a hot-button issue in American politics for years to come. The outcome of the legal battle in South Dakota could have far-reaching implications for the future of abortion rights in the state and beyond. Voters will have to wait and see what happens next as this contentious issue plays out in the courts.
