South Dakota's Four New Anti-Abortion Laws

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Today Governor Mike Rounds signed four new anti-abortion bills in a state considered to be the toughest on abortion, despite giving way to 800 slayings each year and allowing for the procedure through the 24th week of pregnancy.

Let's go over the four new laws.

The first requires doctors to inform pregnant women, in writing and in person, no later than two hours before an abortion that the procedure ends the lives of humans and terminates the constitutional relationship women have with their fetuses. Women also must be told that some women die during abortions and the procedure can lead to later depression and other problems.

I don't quite see the purpose of this law other than to force guilt upon women looking to abort their children. To be sure, I am waiting for day Roe v. Wade is overturned and abortion made illegal, but until then I'm uncomfortable with laws requiring doctors to go down a checklist before going about any of their work.

The second bill is one I like, one that will automatically ban most abortions in South Dakota if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses its 1973 Roe decision and gives states authority to prohibit abortion. Of course exceptions would be made for cases where a woman's life is in danger.

As I've said many times before, it makes sense to allow states to write their own laws, because if the people are unhappy they can hold the lawmakers accountable. Governor Rounds owes his job to the voters, unlike the Supreme Court justices who have been known to recklessly use their power to rule based on ideology, not on the Constitution.

The third bill signed by Rounds tightens the state's parental notification law to require parents to be told within 24 hours if their minor daughter receives an emergency abortion to protect her life or health. The minor could seek an exception through a court order.

This law is crucial as is all laws involving children. Last year in my home state of Florida an item on the ballot asked voters to decide if parents should be notified when their daughter seeks an abortion for any purpose. Fortunately the people here have common sense and overwhelmingly approved the measure, putting rights back where they belong; with the parents.

A fourth new law establishes a state task force to study the history of abortion since 1973 and to see if other laws need changing as a result of improved science, medicine and technology.

Again, another good law considering the emerging evidence suggesting that unborn children can feel pain and show emotions. One only has to see the image of 21-week-old Samuel Armas (abortable by law) grabbing the surgeon's glove to understand how alive unborn children are at stages when abortion is permitted.

So there you have it. I gladly endorse three of the four new laws that will go into effect this July in South Dakota. Of course, I won't shed any tears over the one that will force doctors to tell their patients the consequences of the said procedure. This is the best we can do until we once again outlaw the barbaric procedure.