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One Quibble About South Dakota and Abortions
Dana,
Even though we sit on opposite sides of the abortion debate, I am also uneasy with South Dakota's law compelling abortion doctors to tell women that they are terminating the "the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." There are a million and one better ways to reduce the number of abortions, from better sex education and better access to birth control to charities who work tirelessly to support women who choose to keep their child or keep the pregnancy and give the child up for adoption. And while I do think pre-operative counseling for women seeking abortion is beneficial and would support laws mandating such counseling (it seems like some in the pro-choice movement are acknowledging the emotional and psychological difficulties that some women who choose abortion face, as there are pro-choice groups springing up that offer counseling to women post-abortion), this particular law seems unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds.
But I'd like to address another part of your original post. The fact that there is only one abortion clinic in South Dakota is not that remarkable and I'm guessing has little to do with the state's abortion laws. South Dakota's population hovers below 800,000. North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming—states with similarly huge square mileage and tiny populations—also have a single abortion clinic each, at least according to Abortion.com. For the Dakotas, at least, it's been that way since the late 1980s. Such a lack of services isn't limited to abortion providers. Any kind of medical specialist could be a half-day's drive away, depending on where you live. An ob-gyn can be an hour or more away. You might find the dearth of abortion providers unfortunate, but it's not a conspiracy.
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