Polls & Research

South Dakota Voters Ponder Abortion Ban

- Adults in South Dakota remain split over the new regulations concerning pregnancy termination, according to a poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.. 47 per cent of respondents in the Mount Rushmore State oppose the ban on abortion, while 39 per cent support it.

The 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling gave women in the United States the right to an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy, and regulated the procedure during the second trimester "in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health." In the third trimester, a state can choose to proscribe abortion, except when necessary "for the preservation of the life or health of the mother."

In February, the South Dakota Legislature passed a bill that makes performing an abortion a crime unless the procedure is deemed necessary to save a woman's life, and makes no exception for cases of incest or rape. In March, South Dakota governor Mike Rounds signed the bill into law. Rounds issued a statement, which read, "The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them."

The law was scheduled to take effect on Jul. 1, but opponents gathered close to 38,000 signatures to force a special election on Nov. 7.

Last month, South Dakota attorney Dave Gerdes warned medical practitioners about the reach of the proposed legislation, saying, "It is at least possible that a prosecutor or a court will decide that a physician performing a procedure qualifying as an abortion under the language of the new statute can be prosecuted for first-degree murder."

Polling Data

Do you support or oppose the state's ban on abortion?