Abortion has been a hot-button issue for most of my life. It seems to have about as many opinions and beliefs as there are people. As diverse as our views are on abortion, I hope we can agree on two reasons why Amendment G should be defeated.
First, it does not belong in the Constitution. Elected officials take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of South Dakota. Every year since being elected, I have taken the time to read through both documents. Neither is long. They contain the basic foundational things we need to elect, manage and maintain government; protect and serve people; and conduct commerce. They also contain a short list of basic rights that every citizen has. There is not a single gender specific right in either document, and no mention of anything regarding medicine or health care. In other words, whatever we decide about abortion belongs in law, not in the Constitution.
Second, protecting women should be our top priority. Amendment G says in part … the state may not regulate a pregnant womans abortion decision or its effectuation …” during the first trimester of pregnancy. Amendment G would remove every protection we currently have, or may need to add to keep women safe in the first trimester. For example, current law requires abortions to be provided by licensed professionals in licensed medical facilities. Amendment G would remove that protection, effectively making abortion anywhere and by anyone, legal. Do we really want that?
Regardless of the voters decision on Nov. 5, abortion will remain controversial, long after election day. But, lets not put this into our Constitution, and lets keep women safe. Please join me and vote NO on Amendment G.
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