(4/18/2006)

South Dakota Abortion Ban a Bipartisan Success

Legislators of both parties, genders passed bill with 67% majority

BY BOB ELLIS

DAKOTA VOICE

South Dakota’s controversial abortion ban, House Bill 1215, was a somewhat rare display of bipartisanship, especially for such a divisive political issue.

HB 1215 passed the legislature in February by a 70% margin overall. In the state Senate, it passed with a 66% vote, and 71% final vote in the state House.

By political party, in the House, 84% of Republicans voted for the bill and 37% of Democrats supported it. In the Senate, 60% of Democrats supported the bill and 68% of Republicans voted for it.

By gender, 66% of male legislators voted for HB 1215, and 85% of female legislators supported it.

A similar bill, HB 1191, passed the legislature in 2004 but died because changes requested by Governor Mike Rounds in a style and form veto failed by one vote in the state senate.

Rep. Roger Hunt (R-Brandon) said that many of the legislators in this session were familiar with 1191. “A lot of the legislators are very pro life,” Hunt said. “They have some basic beliefs that cross political lines.”

Hunt said he wasn’t surprised with the bipartisan support for 1215, nor was he surprised that the percentage of women legislators who supported it was even greater than the percentage of male legislators.

“When people say men are trying to determine what women do, they aren’t looking at the facts. They just have their minds made up.” Hunt continued.

Hunt recounted to Dakota Voice about the many women from across South Dakota had testified before the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion, and that many more had filed affidavits detailing their experiences with abortion.

Hunt said that although the abortion task force was only a part of the process, it was still an important element in the passage of HB 1215. “Post abortion problems were practically unknown in 1973,” Hunt said. “Roe said nothing about these things. We now know so much more about the depression, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, psychological problems, the potential for not being able to have future children that can result from having an abortion.”

Hunt took exception to the premise that 1215 had no provision for rape. “It does have an exception. If it had one any broader, you might as well not have a bill. The exception was designed so it wasn’t an unlimited exception, so the abortion industry could say to a woman, ‘Tell us you’ve been raped and we’ll call that a reason to give you an abortion.’”

Hunt said while nothing could be certain with the U.S. Supreme Court, recent decisions relating to abortion seem to be signaling that court members are looking very carefully at the issue, and may possibly be modifying their views. He said the Supreme Court does seem to realize that the Roe v. Wade decision did not settle this issue or end the debate.

Rep. Hunt said it took approximately three years for Roe to reach the Supreme Court, and that it’s safe to assume HB 1215 may take a similar amount of time. Hunt also pointed out that Justice John Paul Stevens, one of the most liberal members of the Court, will turn 86 next month, and only one other justice served at a greater age (Oliver Wendell Holmes at 90). This makes it highly likely that President George W. Bush will make at least one more appointment to the Supreme Court.

State senator Julie Bartling (D-Burke) was the chief sponsor of HB 1215 in the Senate. This by itself was unusual, since Democrats normally support abortion rights, but perhaps not so surprising since so many women and Democrats did support the ban in the end. Dakota Voice attempted to contact Senator Bartling for this article, but was unsuccessful.

A recent Zogby poll seems to indicate a shift away from support for abortion. The survey of over 30,000 people found that 59% believe abortion ends a human life, and 50% believe life begins at conception. It also found that 59% oppose requiring insurance plans to cover abortions when the life of the mother is not at stake.

The March 10-14 survey was commissioned by Associated Television News and The O'Leary Report, included 30,117 respondents in the 48 continental states, and consisted of 30 questions. It has a margin of error of +/- 0.6%.

The seven state senators who founded the South Dakota Mainstream Coalition--Ed Olson of Mitchell, Tom Dempster of Sioux Falls, Dave Knudson of Sioux Falls, Stan Adelstein of Rapid City, Royal “Mac” McCracken of Rapid City, J.P. Duniphan of Rapid City, and Duane Sutton of Aberdeen--all voted against HB 1215. 

Some South Dakotans were so dissatisfied with the passage of 1215 that they have begun an effort to bring the ban to a vote on the November 2006 ballot. The “Campaign for Healthy Families” is working with other groups and individuals to get the 16,728 signatures needed by June 19.

*Note: this article has been corrected from the recent print issue of Dakota Voice which said that Senator Duane Sutton voted for HB 1215.  We sincerely apologize for this error.