Abortion foes question tactics of S. Dakota ban

updated 6:14 p.m. ET March 7, 2006

South Dakota has opted for a sweeping abortion ban and Mississippi may soon follow, but for now, few other states seem eager to join in an all-out challenge of Roe v. Wade. Instead, many legislatures continue to chip away at abortion access while awaiting the outcome of legal and electoral showdowns.

In Missouri, the anti-abortion governor and largest anti-abortion group have expressed tactical doubts about a new proposal to prohibit most abortions. In Georgia and Oklahoma, states where anti-abortion sentiment is high, lawmakers are debating bills that would add new hurdles for women seeking abortion but are not considering bans.

Even some anti-abortion activists elated by South Dakota’s new law are unsure whether it will survive the legal challenges that could put it before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We are hopeful that it will (survive), but even if it does not, it is absolutely worth trying,” said Stephen Peroutka, a Maryland attorney who chairs the National Pro-Life Action Center.

On the other side, the South Dakota ban has galvanized abortion-rights activists and given some of them the hope of regaining political momentum in this year’s general election.

Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, said she was confident that Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court ruling establishing the right to abortion — would survive, and suggested that some of her adversaries shared that view.

“Many anti-choice advocates think a frontal assault on Roe, the way South Dakota is proceeding, is a mistake,” she said Tuesday. “The law will not go into effect, ... and if the Supreme Court does hear the case and reaffirms Roe, they will have suffered a major setback.”

Ban prohibits almost all abortions
South Dakota’s ban, signed into law Monday by Gov. Mike Rounds, would prohibit all abortions except those necessary to save a mother’s life. The Mississippi measure, expected to win final legislative approval soon, makes additional exceptions for cases of rape and incest.

Abortions-rights activists in each state plan legal challenges that would prevent the bans from taking effect indefinitely. Proponents vow to defend the new laws, hoping the legal fight will eventually lead to Supreme Court reversal of Roe.

Yet the National Right to Life Committee — one of the country’s leading anti-abortion groups — has declined to embrace the South Dakota strategy. Instead, it notes that the nine-member Supreme Court, even with the recent addition of conservatives John Roberts and Samuel Alito, still has a majority of at least five justices who support Roe.

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