South Dakota governor signs abortion-ban law

PIERRE, S.D. — Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation Monday that would ban most abortions in South Dakota, a law he acknowledged would be tied up in court for years while the state challenges the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

The bill would make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life. It would make no exception for cases of rape or incest.

Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's only abortion clinic, in Sioux Falls, immediately pledged to challenge the measure. The challenge could either be in court or by petition signatures to refer the measure to a statewide ballot in which voters would be asked to repeal the abortion ban.

The Legislature passed the bill last month after supporters argued that the recent appointment of conservative Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito have made the Supreme Court more likely to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Rounds said he thinks it would be better to chip away at abortion one step at a time rather than directly confront Roe v. Wade. But he said many abortion opponents want the direct challenge.

"Personally I think this court will be more interested in looking at different aspects of Roe v. Wade rather than the direct frontal assault, but we'll never know unless someone tries," he said.

But Democratic strategist Steve Hildebrand predicts the law will be "a huge benefit" for his party.

He gives a preview of the case that abortion-rights supporters could make: If a murderer gets out of prison and rapes a woman, she's forced to have his child. If a father rapes his daughter, she is forced to have his child.

"You present those arguments to women voters, they are going to be outraged," he said.

Material from USA Today is included in this report