An initiative to enshrine abortion access as a right in South Dakota’s constitution has garnered enough signatures to appear on the November ballot, Dakotans for Health, a grassroots advocacy group, said it has collected over 56,000 signatures for the proposed Freedom Amendment. The proposal aims to override the current law in South Dakota, which only allows abortion in cases where the mother’s life is at risk, and legalize abortion during the first trimester, with regulations in place for the second trimester and exceptions for the third trimester to preserve the life or health of the pregnant mother.
The Secretary of State now needs to verify the signatures to ensure they are from qualified voters before the measure is added to the November ballot. If approved, South Dakota would join at least 11 other states with active ballot campaigns seeking to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right in the upcoming elections. The issue is set to be on the ballot in states like Florida, New York, and Maryland, with campaigns also underway in states such as Arizona, Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Nevada.
South Dakota imposed a near-total ban on abortion in June 2022, following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. The state’s law makes it a class six felony for any abortion provider to carry out the procedure without the mother’s life being threatened. The proposed amendment was introduced in August 2022, with Dakotans for Health reporting 50,000 signatures by December. Similar efforts to enshrine abortion rights in state constitutions have already been successful in GOP-leaning states like Kansas and Ohio, with Democrats hoping these initiatives will increase voter turnout by rallying against the GOP and former President Donald Trump following Roe’s reversal.
Former President Donald Trump recently stated in an interview that states should have the authority to prosecute women who obtain abortions and monitor pregnant women to ensure they don’t violate state bans on the procedure. The ongoing efforts across multiple states to protect abortion rights come in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade, which has sparked a wave of activism to ensure access to safe and legal abortions. The success of these ballot measures will have significant implications for reproductive rights and access to healthcare for women across the country.
As the abortion debate continues to unfold at the state level, advocates and opponents of abortion rights are mobilizing their supporters to either uphold or challenge existing laws and regulations. With the November elections approaching, the outcome of these ballot initiatives in states like South Dakota will have a lasting impact on the future of abortion access in the United States. Stay tuned for updates on the verification of signatures and the potential inclusion of the proposed amendment on the South Dakota ballot, as well as developments in other states with similar initiatives in progress.
