There will be a new group of doctors working to get a vote measure passed that would give South Dakotans the right to have abortions again.
Amy Kelley, an OB-GYN from Sioux Falls and co-chair of the group, said, “Hopefully we can bring some reality to what I’m sure will be a bit of a contentious and very rhetoric-filled issue.”
South Dakota doesn’t allow abortions right now unless it’s to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.” The ballot measure would allow abortions in the first three months of pregnancy, but the state could put limits on them in the second and third trimesters. The only times an abortion would be allowed would be in cases where the mother’s life or health is in danger.
Dr.s for Freedom is the name of the new group. It was first mentioned at an online news conference on Tuesday put on by the Freedom Amendment Coalition, a group that was also created to back the ballot measure.
She said, “I think it’s really important to talk about what we have seen as health care professionals and what our patients have been through, as well as the truth about reproductive care.” “People who don’t work in our field don’t always get it.” They don’t get that abortion care is an important part of what OB-GYNs do, even if they’ve never worked in a Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood used to be the only place in the state that offered abortions. In 2022, the group stopped offering abortions in South Dakota because they thought the U.S. Supreme Court would rule against federal constitutional abortion rights.
Marvin Buehner, an OB-GYN in Rapid City and co-chair of Doctors for Freedom said at a press conference on Tuesday that he has seen many difficult pregnancies where abortion was the only choice.
He said, “But we can’t do that here.” “And several times in the last month, I’ve had to tell patients, ‘This is the kind of conversation we’d have in other states, but I can’t have it with you here. If you think that’s best for your care, we’ll have to make plans to transfer to another state,'”
South Dakota voters will decide on an abortion rights question on November 5, even though an anti-abortion group is suing to keep the measure off the ballot. The lawsuit was thrown out by a judge earlier this month, but the state Supreme Court has been asked to review that ruling.
The pro-life group Life Defense Fund released a statement on Tuesday in response to the news. The statement was written by co-chair Leslee Unruh.
Unruh said, in part, “I expect more from any doctor.” He also said, “I’ve been working for over 40 years to help women recover from abortion, so it’s pathetic that this is what pro-abortionists are pushing for.”
