South Dakota anti-abortion groups appeals ruling that dismissed its lawsuit over ballot initiative

2024-12-26 02:45:18 source:lotradecoin token airdrop campaigns category:News

An anti-abortion group in South Dakota is appealing to the state’s Supreme Court after a judge dismissed its lawsuit to take an abortion rights initiative off the November ballot.

In a statement, Life Defense Fund Co-Chair Leslee Unruh said the group has asked for an expedited order from the court “because there are absolutely no legal grounds for this dismissal.”

“We will do everything we can to move this case as fast as possible,” she said.

The group sought to remove the initiated measure, alleging wrongdoing related to petition circulators. Measure group Dakotans for Health submitted tens of thousands of petition signatures in May. Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office later validated the initiative for the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

The measure would bar the state from regulating “a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation” in the first trimester, but it would allow second-trimester regulations “only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.”

The constitutional amendment would allow the state to regulate or prohibit abortion in the third trimester, “except when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.”

RELATED COVERAGE Kansas won’t force providers to ask patients why they want abortions while a lawsuit proceeds Dominican activists protest against a new criminal code that would maintain a total abortion ban Montana judge: Signatures of inactive voters count for initiatives, including 1 to protect abortion

South Dakota outlaws abortion as a felony crime except in instances to save the life of the mother, under a trigger law that took effect in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion.

Since that decision, abortion rights measures have passed in all seven states where voters have weighed in. Similar measures will be before voters in a handful of other states this year.

More:News

Recommend

Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Follow Your Dreams

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Follow Your

Champions Classic is for elite teams. So why is Michigan State still here? | Opinion

ATLANTA — With each missed layup, clanked three and clumsy pass out of bounds, you could imagine Dan

Bev Priestman fired as Canada women’s soccer coach after review of Olympic drone scandal

Canada women’s coach Bev Priestman, suspended following a drone surveillance scandal at the Paris Ol