An anti-abortion group in South Dakota has filed a lawsuit to block an abortion rights measure from appearing on the November ballot. The group, Life Defense Fund, alleges various wrongdoings by the supporters of the measure, including invalid signatures and fraud. They are seeking to disqualify or invalidate the initiative, which was validated by Secretary of State Monae Johnson in May for the general election ballot. The measure, submitted by Dakotans for Health, received about 54,000 signatures, of which 85% were deemed valid based on a random sample. Life Defense Fund alleges that Dakotans for Health did not file required paperwork and that petitioners misled people into signing.
In response to the lawsuit, Dakotans for Health called it a last-ditch effort to undermine the democratic process. They believe that the people of South Dakota should have the opportunity to make a decision on the measure in November, rather than having it blocked by legal challenges. The measure in question would prevent the state from regulating a woman’s abortion decision in the first trimester, with some exceptions for the second and third trimesters. South Dakota currently outlaws abortion except to save the life of the mother under a trigger law that was enacted following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022.
The Legislature in South Dakota has already expressed opposition to the measure earlier this year, passing a resolution opposing it and enacting a law that allows petition signers to withdraw their signatures from initiative petitions. However, this is not expected to prevent the measure from going before voters in November. Life Defense Fund is also seeking to ban Dakotans for Health and its workers from sponsoring or circulating petitions or participating in ballot initiative committee work for four years. The measure in South Dakota is one of several across the country that seek to enshrine abortion rights into state constitutions.
South Dakota is one of four states, along with Colorado, Florida, and Maryland, where measures related to abortion rights will be on the ballot in November. There are also petition drives in seven more states to add similar questions. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court two years ago, there have been multiple statewide abortion-related ballot measures, with abortion rights advocates prevailing in all cases. The outcome of the legal challenge in South Dakota will determine whether the abortion rights measure will be decided by voters in the upcoming election.
