South Dakota's Ugly Anti-Abortion Model

By James Donahue

March 2006

The decision by South Dakota legislators to ban abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, has perhaps shocked women all over the United States. They have emerged from their stupor now enough to realize that this may soon be their fate if this issue is challenged all the way to the new and ultra conservative Supreme Court.

The intent of the South Dakota law was to quickly force the high court to take a new look at the controversial Roe vs. Wade decision that has legalized abortions since 1973.

After more than 30 years of freedom from the severe enslavement forced upon women by the old state anti-abortion laws, a reversal now will have a severe impact on the social affairs of most young Americans. It looms at a time when it is too costly for most families to raise children, few American families enjoy the benefits of medical insurance, and the world is excessively overpopulated.

An ugly example of the reality of this threat has appeared on a feminist blog page titled Molly Saves The Day, which gives explicit directions on line for conducting surgical abortions. The author, who for understandable reasons does not give her name, insists that the data is for information purposes only and that she does not condone at-home abortions.

For now, Molly Saves The Day recommends that South Dakota women travel across state lines and get their abortions in neighboring states. But you have to read between the lines here. If Roe vs. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Courts and America plunges back into the dark ages, home abortions will be the order of the day.

The scary thing about this picture is that, like the author of the blog, the women that will be secretly doing this to themselves, have no professional medical history. That old scene of women sneaking into secret and dirty abortion nooks via the back door, and possibly dying from infections or complications, will become reality once more.

The blog page is so explicit, it posts directions for a dilation and curettage abortion, and threatens to place online the steps for a vacuum aspiration abortion. In the interest of saving the day, we highly recommend that all women read this material.

“If anyone has a problem with this and they don’t think non-doctors should perform medical procedures, there is a simple way to guarantee that won’t happen,” the author writes. “Make sure Roe v. Wade is not overturned.”

That ruling has divided the nation. It has been Bible-thumping Christian against the rest, and there are enough Bible-thumpers in America to keep the debate heated. Fortunately, they are not the majority and their argument, that it is “God’s law,” isn’t enough to tip the legal scales.

Or at least it wasn’t a heavy enough argument. Since a Bible-thumping Southern Baptist got elected to the President’s chair, he has had the opportunity to replace two vacancies on that already divided court. Both of the new judges are heavily influenced by Christianity.

This is why South Dakota wants to test this court to see if the balance has shifted.

And if it has, woe be onto this nation.