Pro-life women in South Dakota legislature destroying myths about abortion laws
Mar 7, 2006
By Michael Foust
Baptist Press

PIERRE, S.D. (BP)--Slowly but surely, female legislators in South Dakota are shattering the myth that says male politicians are the only ones who support abortion restrictions.

Of the 16 women in the South Dakota House and Senate, 11 voted in February for a bill that would ban all abortions in the state, unless it's necessary to save the mother's life. Signed into law Feb. 6 by Republican Gov. Mike Rounds, the effort is a direct challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The law would go into effect July 1, although it likely will be struck down before then in federal court. Supporters hope the high court takes the case and overturns Roe.

"I just turned 40 this year, and I think it's extremely important that women my age speak out and say that abortion hurts women," South Dakota state Rep. Keri K. Weems, a Republican who represents part of Sioux Falls and who voted for the bill, told Baptist Press. "We want to not only protect women but also to protect babies." The rest