Amendment G proponents are tired of the lies being spread about it. It’s time to refute them, one by one.
With little stomach for politics, I was happy to mostly step away since leaving the South Dakota Senate years ago. But when Amendment G proponents asked me to help get rid of our abortion ban, I agreed to speak up. I can’t be silent when a freedom so intensely personally is snuffed out by government — especially by a Legislature often at odds with most South Dakotans.
So I’ve spoken about how wrong it is for a female to be impregnated by force, then forced by state government to give birth. And how awful it is to threaten doctors with a felony if they exercise medical judgment in a way that might be criticized by Monday-morning quarterbacks. It hurts obstetrical care and threatens access to OB/Gyns for all women. But today, I need to speak up about the lies.
The lies. They come from campaign propaganda, pulpits, and even the attorney general’s statements. Supporters of our near-total abortion ban realize they cannot win at the polls if they simply admit their opposition to abortion at all stages, under virtually all circumstances. Instead, they make up lies to try to distort Amendment G and scare those willing to support it.
Here are some of the biggest:
No parental consent? A lie. Amendment G prohibiting regulation of abortions in the first trimester does not eliminate the legal principle that parents control a child’s medical care. Applying that principle to abortions is not a prohibited “regulation” of abortion.
In 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Belotti v. Baird that even if abortion access is a constitutional right, states can require parental consent, provided they provide a bypass for exceptional cases (like a father impregnating his daughter) — and even then, a judge steps in to the parental role to decide whether to give or withhold consent.
Abortions up to birth? Another lie. There’s no such thing. Doesn’t happen. Almost 95% of abortions are in the first trimester, most of the rest in the second. Fewer than 1% occur after the sixth month. Amendment G does not extend by even one day the period during which an abortion can be performed.
There were no abortions at birth during 50 years of Roe v. Wade or the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned. There won’t be any under Amendment G. Just like under Roe v. Wade, if a woman near term faces health risks requiring pregnancy to be cut short, doctors don’t abort a fetus, they deliver a baby. Then a whole team of medical professionals do all they can to care for mom and baby.
Your neighbor can perform abortions? Only if your neighbor is a licensed doctor. It’s a crime to practice medicine without a license. That’s a general legal principle applied to all medical practice, not a prohibited “regulation” of abortion.
And 50 years of legal history prove that. In 1975, the Supreme Court held in Connecticut v. Menillo that prohibiting regulation of abortion in the first trimester does not prevent a state from requiring that only licensed doctors perform abortions.
Terms are too vague? Another lie. The term “health” is used thousands of times in state law. The term “effectuation” has been used in state abortion law for decades. And if there are any questions about exactly what is or is not allowed, our South Dakota Supreme Court exists to answer them.
So, if you want safe, legal abortion to be reasonably available to South Dakota women, girls and families, support Amendment G. And don’t be scared by the lies.
Nancy Turbak Berry has practiced law in Watertown for 42 years. She has been a state senator, a state court magistrate judge, and an adjunct law professor. In 2013, she was asked by USD Law School to create and teach its first course on Sexuality, Reproduction and the Law. A longtime advocate for women and children, she has two daughters-in-law and three granddaughters. She chairs the Coalition for Freedom Amendment G.
