Bill 'direct frontal assault' on Roe -S.D. governor
CHICAGO, Feb. 24 — South Dakota's anti-abortion bill would be a direct assault on the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds said Saturday, and he is inclined to sign it.
''If the bill is correctly written, then I will seriously consider signing the bill. It would be a direct frontal assault on Roe vs. Wade,'' the Republican governor said on ABC News' ''Good Morning America.''
''Two years ago there was a similar bill that was passed and there were technical details in the bill which stopped us from signing it at that time,'' Rounds said.
But assuming there are no technical difficulties, and asked whether he would sign the bill, the governor responded: ''That would be my intent.''
The South Dakota legislature approved a bill Friday that would ban almost all abortions, including in pregnancies that result from incest or rape, or those that might damage the health of the mother.
Backers and opponents of the bill have said it is the most restrictive measure on abortion to pass a state legislature since the Roe decision legalized abortion in 1973. South Dakota is the first state to pass a bill banning abortion since Roe.
The legislation would allow abortion only to save the mother's life. It calls for $5,000 fines and five-year prison sentences for doctors who carry out abortions.
Supporters of the bill intend the conflict it sets up with Roe v. Wade to bring the issue back before the U.S. Supreme Court, where, they hope, two conservative members newly appointed by President Bush will be disposed to dismantle the 1973 decision.
The South Dakota law is part of a state-by-state effort to challenge abortion. Legislatures in Georgia, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana also have measures before them that would heavily restrict abortions.
It could take years for any such challenge to reach the high court.
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