I needn't remind folks that our few gay civil rights victories in the Supreme Court are based on the court decisions favoring a woman's right to choose. Whether you like it or not, the issues are linked legally.
Planned Parenthood has an action alert on the latest atrocity. More from the International Herald Tribune:
In a provocation intended to pose a direct legal challenge to the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal, the state of South Dakota has made it a felony to perform any abortion except in a case of a mother's life being in jeopardy....That's nice. So I assume the governor has a stellar record on support for civil rights legislation and for programs to help the poor and children at risk? Somehow I doubt it. With this crowd, your life is precious before you're born, but afterwards you're on your own.
Rounds, a Republican, said in a statement after signing the legislation in Pierre that it was the right thing to do. He said he fully expects the law to be challenged, and that it might ultimately wind up in the Supreme Court. He compared the possibility of a reversal of Roe v. Wade - which in 1973 established a constitutional right to abortion - to that of the changing legal precedents around racial segregation.
The law will also almost certainly force a showdown before it ever comes into effect, an outcome its supporters, eager to overturn the 1973 decision, had intended.
"In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society," the governor said.
You can find Planned Parenthood's action alert here.
