S.D. Mulls Ban On Nearly All Abortions
Bill Would Allow Exceptions For Rape, Incest; Anti-Abortion Activists Hope Law Will Challenge Roe V. Wade
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Abortion Debate
It's one of the most hotly debated political and social issues in America. Review a history of that debate since the historic Roe v. Wade decision.
People who oppose abortion hope the measure becomes the vehicle for a legal challenge to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which legalized abortion broadly across the United States except in the last months of pregnancy.
A South Dakota bill passed last year contained an exception only to save the life of a woman. A petition campaign forced that bill onto the ballot and voters rejected it in November by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent.
Opponents of the legislation have said the issue was settled in the November election and lawmakers should not have revived it.
This year's bill would allow rape victims to get abortions if they report the rapes to police within 50 days. Doctors would have to confirm the report with police and would have to take blood from aborted fetuses and give that information to police for DNA testing.
In the case of incest, a doctor would have to get the woman's consent to report the crime along with the identity of the alleged perpetrator before an abortion could be performed. Blood samples from fetuses would have to be provided to police in incest cases, too.
Abortions could be done only until the 17th week of pregnancy in cases of incest and rape.
One of the 25 sponsors, Republican state Rep. Gordon Howie, said the rape and incest provisions are strict to ensure that women do not say they have been victims in order to obtain abortions.
The bill carries a tougher maximum penalty for illegal abortions than last year's bill — 10 years in prison instead of five.
It would allow abortions to save women's lives and in cases in which their health would be seriously jeopardized by a continued pregnancy. However, a doctor could perform an abortion only if a doctor from another practice concurs that a woman's health is in jeopardy.
In Utah, a state House committee voted 6-2 on Tuesday to ban abortion, setting the stage for a costly legal battle if the bill clears the Legislature and is signed into law. The committee sent the measure to the full House.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said the bill likely is unconstitutional and if it becomes law could be costly to defend against any legal challenges.
In the November election, abortion-rights supporters prevailed in defeating two other state ballot measures — parental-notification requirements in Oregon and California.
In several other states, including Oklahoma and Texas, conservatives are pushing new bills that would outlaw abortion in the event Roe vs. Wade is overturned.
The federal election in November eased abortion-rights groups' concerns about the prospect of the Supreme Court overturning the Roe decision. The newly Democratic-controlled Senate could ensure that any vacancy on the Supreme Court over the next two years would be filled by a supporter of abortion rights.
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See all 143 CommentsBut why has the pendulum swung from pro-choice to pro-life over the last three decades? Maybe it is because the pro-lifers have been raising their kids to oppose abortion. On the other hand, the supporters of abortion...didn't have kids.
It is uniquely ironic that over time the practice of abortion eliminates its constituency so that its opponents carry the day. If you want to maintain a woman's right to choose, then encourage women to have more kids and teach them to be pro-choice!
Exactly RandallDS, these right winger jesus freaks INSIST on foisting THEIR religious krap and propaganad on the rest of us, overtly, covertly, in your face, in the media, thru laws and more. It's time to YANK the tax exempt status of churches NOW as their non-profit status is dependent upon their not being involved with POLITICS and what they are doing is involving their church with it's violent history of death, bloodshed, subversion, bigotry and mind-rot into OUR laws and lives.
I frankly am sick and tired of it- religion is for idiots who are emotionally WEAK and need a crutch to lean on and a magical Santa Claus in the sky to "forgive" them and given them purpose.
Why they can just practice it themselves without forcing all 300 million of us to do the same is beyond me???
Everybody needs to me e-mailing all of their state and federal congressmen/congresswomen demanding that this stop!!!
When the right-wingers take in all the current unwanted (foster) children in America then they can say something.
NOT TO ALARM YOU OR ANYTHING. Just passing this along.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
query/z?c110:H.R.393:
Universal National Service Act of 2007 (Introduced in House)
HR 393 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 393
To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the favorable treatment afforded combat pay under the earned income tax credit, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 10, 2007
I just want to make this clear to those who are anti-abortion:
You CANNOT call yourself "pro-life" if you believe in capital punishment, (the death penalty).
If you oppose abortion but support capital punishment, you are PRO-BIRTH... not pro-life.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Posted by acauble1 at 12:54 AM : Feb 01, 2007
I have to respectfully disagree. The corect term would be anti-abortion... not pro anything.
This new legislation merely points up the fact that some factions wish to ignore the wishes of the voters.
Why even have elections or votes if the will of the people is to be ignored time after time?
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to the Dark Ages.
If they don't wish to have abortions, no one is forcing them to do so. But they feel the need to change the law to force everyone to subscribe to their perspective.
Some tolerance, eh?
Freedom of religion means freedom from religion as well, preacherman.
If you and your ilk don't wish to have abortions, no one if forcing you to do so.
Neither will you and your ilk force everyone else to subscribe to your beliefs. Keep them to yourself.
If the rest of us wanted to follow your dogma, we would. You will not force us to do so.
Posted by grumpas at 09:39 AM : Feb 01, 2007
Exactly why I call religion "intellectual slavery". People stop thinking for themselves and allow others to do their thinking for them in exchange for a warm fuzzy......
Religion has nothing to do with whether or not murder is wrong! It's the same thing as giving live birth , taking a look at the child and saying; "Nah, I don't think I like this one." Then telling the OB-GYN to dispose of it.
All of you who think it so wonderful should go to your nearest clinic and ask to sit through several abortions and get in there real close so you can see the child moving.
If you still think it's just a dandy thing after that, then you know that you are just as sick an individual as Dahmer was.
.......by Skyk
That's just pure fabrication.
.......by Skyk
That's just pure fabrication.
Posted by legendary240 at 09:49 AM : Feb 01, 2007
The 80% figure probably represented the ministers who are buying prostitutes and meth.....
Reason being....There will ALWAYS be unwanted pregnancies, Sadly, There will ALWAYS be pregnancies as a result of rape, And, There will ALWAYS be screwed up situations that lead to pregnancies as a result of incest.
Outlawing the after effect isn't going to matter.
You can't just outlaw abortions, and expect them to stop.
If you think you can stop rapes and incest from taking place....AND....If you think you can stop people from having un-protected ***.....Then..
"GO YOU!!" :)
That would lead to a MAJOR decline in abortions.
All I have to say to you now, is...Good luck With that!
Because, you, I, and the next guy, CAN NOT control what goes on behind closed doors in homes all across america.
Where in the Bible does it tell believers to be tolerant? Loving people is not the same thing as passively sitting quiet while someone does an evil thing. So, you would expect a believer to sit quietly and tolerate a crime taking place against someone? No, you'd accuse them of being an accomplice. If they said; "No, I was being tolerant." You'd want them thrown in jail. So would I! You have a right to agree with abortion and I have a right to disagree. So why do you have to attack the person at such a personal, and demeaning way? Someone's beliefs are their OWN - I don't attack yours. If you want to believe in God, Jesus and the Bible, I applaud you, of course! If you don't believe, then I still would love you and be your best neighbor. I can't hate anyone - I used to before I became a believer.
One day you will.
Posted by grumpas at 09:39 AM : Feb 01, 2007
So...your belief system is medically-assisted murder? That is the point of this article.
"Turn the other cheek" is not a reference to tolerance? Then what IS it a reference to?
And no, I would not sit by and just be witness to a crime without intervening.
Abortion is not illegal, ergo, it can not be classified as a "crime", however.
You "believers" are always trying to categorize what you consider to be a "sin" as a "crime".
Sins and crimes are not one in the same thing except in your convoluted way of thinking.
And why should her decision even really matter to those of you who oppose abortion?
In all reality, it's not your problem, or your business, now is it??
Reason being....There will ALWAYS be unwanted pregnancies, Sadly, There will ALWAYS be pregnancies as a result of rape, And, There will ALWAYS be screwed up situations that lead to pregnancies as a result of incest.
Apply that same logic to other crimes - murder, for instance. Since there will always be people who will kill other people, let's just make it legal so the murderer won't have to feel so ashamed about it.
Since there will always be people who just have to rape a woman, let's just legalize that. Also, if we just throw away all that makes us a civilized society then no one will ever have to feel guilty, dirty or ashamed about anything. Neat idea! You really swayed me with your logic.
Merriam-Webster defines "murder" as:
"the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought"
and "embryo" as:
"something as yet undeveloped"
Not a "person".
Learn your language and you won't make such gaffes in the future.
Your analogy doesn't fly. You try to extrapolate something that is not a crime to acts that are crimes.
Absolutely bogus.
Posted by spike121954 at 10:05 AM : Feb 01, 2007
IF there is a god - when it comes to murder, mayhem, and world destruction -- he has got a lot of explaining to do.
Keep your bible out of our laws - it's only one book - in fact it is only a book.
No it is not. What it is referring to is when you are being persecuted for your beliefs and making someone hate you enough to attack you -STAND FAST and don't run away! Take it like Jesus did, BUT Jesus NEVER tolerated sin and sat silent.
You see the Bible is not a cluster of grapes, you can't just pick one here and there.
Trust me on this - when in the near future you all are beheading us or hanging us, you will not have to chase me down to do it. You won't have to bind me or fear that I will resist and attack you. You can simply snuff me out.
But until the day that God gives all of you unbelievers over to satan to do such a thing, you'll have to keep hearing the truth.
Jesus gave His life at the hands of people who were like you in order to save people like you. I have broken every one of the Ten Commandments, Did I Murder? I sure did, I sent the woman I having an illicit relationship with to the abortion clinic in 1988 to save my scrawny neck from being wrung by her husband. That's what kind of guy I was. But it was John 3:16 that defines my life now.
You all speak of things you do not know about. Every day I look at my kids and I know there is one missing that I will never see again until I die. I sent my child to be killed. How can a man live with that without the forgiveness of God?
He that has the Son (of God-Jesus)has life, he that does not have the Son, does not. Who do you have?
Posted by oleander8 at 10:21 AM : Feb 01, 2007
It is a ideological "how to" manual. Nothing more.
I dont feel I need to sway anybody.
Its simply my opinion, just like you have yours, so deal with it.
And, we are not talking about murder and other crimes, we are talking about abortion.
Murder, by the way..isnt a choice, or an option like abortion is. Murder is a totally different subject.
And if your goal is to make women feel guilty, dirty, or ashamed for their decicions...It's NEVER going to happen.
Look up the definition of REDEEMED. I LIKE THE DICTIONARY TOO!
Posted by slclark0029 at 10:26 AM
Personally, I have found that logic has little impact on religous zealots. They, by definition, reject logic in favor of "faith".
Merriam-Webster defines "reedeemed" as:
" to buy back "
I've never sold myself, hence, I have no need to be "bought back".
You obviously have sold yourself if you feel the need to be "redeemed".
Next?
Posted by exusmcsgt at 10:26 AM : Feb 01, 2007
Gunnie, you ought to use the manual then. If I am wrong then when I die I will have lost nothing. If you are wrong and die you have lost it all. That would be a shame. Jesus loves Marines.
Posted by legendary240 at 10:25 AM : Feb 01, 2007
Religion is your crutch that helps explain the unexplainable to fearful people.
Posted by legendary240 at 10:34 AM : Feb 01, 2007
I disagree. You and your fellow believers lose the luxury of independent thought and reason throughout your entire existence.
You are told how to think, what to believe, and what to do.
If that's not enslavement, I don't know what is.
You can enslave yourself if you choose, but I will be free.
Posted by oleander8 at 10:37 AM : Feb 01, 2007
No, it's better than a crutch - it's LIFE! A crutch is something a man picks up and leans on. A relationship with Jesus Christ occurs when a man is picked up and held close in his Creator's arms. I'm not leaning - I'm being carried.
He wants to carry you too if you'll simply believe.
Posted by legendary240 at 10:37 AM : Feb 01, 2007
Let me ask you about your logic, then.
Logic tells one that the origins of our planet occurred 3.5 billion years ago. A fact that can proven time and time agin through scientific methodology. Archeology, radio-carbon dating, etc., etc., etc.
Your manual says the planet is only 6,000 years old.
Which to you believe to be the case?
He wants to carry you too if you'll simply believe.
Posted by legendary240 at 10:42 AM : Feb 01, 2007
I haven't had the need to be carried since I learned to walk.
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