Abortion
Anti-abortion groups shrug off election losses, look to courts, statehouses for path forward
Anti-abortion groups are firing off a warning shot for 2024: We’re not going anywhere. Their leaders say they’re undeterred by recent election setbacks and plan to plow ahead on what they’ve done for years, including working through state legislatures, federal agencies, and federal courts to outlaw abortion. And at least one prominent anti-abortion group is […]
New policy leads to settlement in ballot petitioner rights lawsuit
SIOUX FALLS — Minnehaha County commissioners signed off on a settlement agreement Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit accusing them of violating the First Amendment rights of people collecting signatures for ballot questions. Dakotans for Health sued the county this spring after the commission passed a policy on May 2 that restricted petitioning to a small […]
2024 ballot question status check: Abortion, open primaries, food sales tax and more
The countdown is on. The 2024 general election is about a year out, and South Dakota’s ballot could be a long one: There are 15 potential ballot questions listed on the Secretary of State’s Office website. One question is already set to be on the ballot. Petitions for about half of the other questions are […]
Legislators in 49 states ask SCOTUS to preserve access to abortion pill
A group of more than 600 Democratic legislators from 49 states have signed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to overturn an appellate court decision that would roll back access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used to safely terminate early pregnancies and treat miscarriages. The amicus brief, also called […]
Abortion pill to stay on the market until U.S. Supreme Court ruling after appeals court order
UPDATED 4:15 p.m. Central, 8/16/23 WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday the abortion pill can stay on the market, but it agreed with a lower court that ultimately use should revert to prescribing and dosage instructions that were in place before 2016. That appeals court ruling will immediately be put on hold until […]
Johnson votes yes on defense bill that targets abortion access, trans health, racial equity
The U.S. House approved Friday an annual defense authorization bill loaded with GOP rollbacks of Pentagon policies on abortion and transgender health care, as well as efforts to boost racial equity. Republican amendments targeting social policy issues turned a typically bipartisan measure preserving the nation’s military security into another front for the culture wars, similar […]
Where the GOP presidential candidates stand on national abortion bans, restrictions
WASHINGTON — The 2024 Republican presidential primary marks the first time in half a century that candidates will debate whether abortion should be restricted or banned at the federal level without the Roe v. Wade ruling making most of their proposals moot. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last summer to overturn the nationwide, constitutional right […]
Echoing history, reliance upon travel rises for abortion care post-Dobbs
When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision one year ago, people of childbearing age in states across the country suddenly faced what seemed like a new prospect — having to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles from home to get an abortion. But historians say it is merely continuing a long tradition […]
After Dobbs, abortion access is harder, comes later and with a higher risk
In April, a Reddit user in Alabama posted a breathless message to the abortion subreddit the morning after learning she was pregnant. She guessed she was early, two or three weeks maybe. “there’s a clinic in GA about 3 hours away. They said they will do it as long as no heartbeat is found on […]
A year after Dobbs: Congress takes a back seat on federal abortion policy
WASHINGTON — One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the courts rather than a divided Congress are leading the way on decisions on reproductive rights that would affect the entire nation. Congress has not enacted federal legislation to either preserve reproductive rights or to restrict abortion in the […]
Democrats in Congress renew push to protect access to birth control
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would guarantee access to birth control regardless of any future Supreme Court rulings. The measure would ensure people have the right to use contraception and that health care providers have a right to share information about contraception as well as provide it. The legislation would […]
Bans on abortion and gender-affirming care are attacks on liberty
Across the country, our bodies have become political battlegrounds. Politicians are passing extreme bans on abortion, restricting access to birth control and medication abortion, and keeping transgender people from accessing the care that they need. It’s happening here in South Dakota, too. This past year has been devastating for our right and ability to make […]