South Dakota Ballot Initiative

Tuesday, leaders from pro-abortion groups held a press conference at the National Press Club to highlight their opposition to Initiated Measure 11. This ballot initiative would ban abortions in the state of South Dakota except for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Such a challenge to Roe could possibly make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is the course that ballot initiative organizers want it to run. The goal of course would be to challenge Roe's strangle-hold on abortion legislation and possibly return such decisions to the states.

Whether it is successful is another story. Ballot initiatives often do not fair well (regardless of the issue) because people who would agree with a ballot initiative would rather vote "no" than make changes to state law. This is a large reason why ballot initiatives aren't always the best way to go.

It's interesting however to note the language pro-abortion groups used when arguing against the initiative. Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood (PPFA) and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of PPFA, said:

"It is a cynical effort, I believe, by anti-choice groups to simply use the state of South Dakota and the voters of South Dakota to do their ultimate goal which is to challenge the fundamental right of women in this country that supported the right decision to make these personal decisions."

That's a long-winded way of saying that the initiative challenges Roe. But the challenge to Roe is justified-- Roe was a deliberate act of legislating from the bench. Previous Court decisions on Roe have frequently justified its continued existence by claiming it as established precedent and therefore the legal equivalent of written-in-stone.

Whatever happens in November, to hold a press conference in Washington, D.C. about a ballot initiative in South Dakota says a great deal about how nervous pro-abortion leaders are about this.

h/t CNSNews.com