S.D. Abortion Ban

Via the Washington Post:

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Kayla Brandt had an abortion three years ago and instantly hated having done it. Now, hoping to stop other women from making the same choice, she is a public advocate for the most severe abortion ban in the nation.

"I don't want anyone to feel what I did," Brandt says.

So because you're upset with your own decision every other person in South Dakota is required to make amends? Fuck you, Kayla Brandt!

Continuing...

South Dakota is the unlikely home of this year's most intense duel over abortion, a Nov. 7 referendum to decide the future of HB 1215, a measure that would institute a broad ban on the procedure. No exceptions would be allowed for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest -- abortion would be permitted only when the mother's life is in jeopardy.

[...]

A fresh poll suggests voters are inclined to oppose the law as too severe. In a late-July sounding, opponents of the ban held an eight-point lead, with 14 percent undecided.

This is the correct strategy to defeat abortion bans. Americans favor giving women the choice to have safe, legal abortions. Having voters defeat these types of measures discourages politicians from both introducing them and voting for them to curry favor with voters. Why would any sane politician support something that voters don't? Relying on the Supreme Court to defeat these measures only encourages the Medievalists to keep trying to strip women of their right to control their own body and reinforces the false 'activist judges' meme.

That said, the Washington Post notes that if the ban included provisions in the case of rape or incest, the majority of South Dakotans would favor the ban. (South Dakota is only 775,000 Americans out of nearly 300,000,000 and skews more rightward than the nation in general.) Even still, a state that elected George W. Bush twice, with 60% of the vote gives the current bill, with no exception for rape or incest, only 39% support. With the exceptions, only 59% would support the ban - still less than the total percentage of votes George W. Bush received.

This is a wedge issue that the GOP has exploited for years. The closer they get to over turning Roe v. Wade, the less effective the issue becomes for them. In most parts of the country, a strong majority of voters support a woman's right to chose. As those voters begin to feel less comfortable due to Republican efforts to strip women of their rights, expect them to go to the polls to express their opinion.

Republican strategists must know this. I'm sure that their 'perfect scenario' didn't include a draconian abortion law that makes Republicans look like uncompromising zealots. This is a miscalculation that could cost them.

South Dakota Abortion Republicans