Current:Home > NewsSouth Dakota Supreme Court reverses judge’s dismissal of lawsuit against abortion rights initiative-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
South Dakota Supreme Court reverses judge’s dismissal of lawsuit against abortion rights initiative
View Date:2024-12-24 00:49:42
The South Dakota Supreme Court has reversed a judge’s ruling from last month that dismissed a lawsuit aiming to remove an abortion rights initiative from the November ballot.
The court on Friday reversed the order of dismissal and sent the case back for further proceedings. The anti-abortion group Life Defense Fund had appealed Judge John Pekas’s ruling that dismissed its lawsuit seeking to invalidate the measure. The group alleged myriad wrongdoing related to petition circulators.
In a statement, Life Defense Fund co-chair Leslee Unruh said the group is thrilled the court expedited the case and sent it back to the lower court.
“(Measure leader) Rick Weiland and his paid posse have broken laws, tricked South Dakotans into signing their abortion petition, left petitions unattended, and much more. Dakotans for Health illegally gathered signatures to get Amendment G on the ballot, therefore this measure should not be up for a vote this November,” she said.
The Associated Press emailed a request for comment to Dakotans for Health, the group that brought the measure. Measure backers submitted about 54,000 petition signatures in May. Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office later validated the measure for the ballot.
The measure would bar the state from regulating “a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation” in the first trimester, but it would allow second-trimester regulations “only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.”
The constitutional amendment would allow the state to regulate or prohibit abortion in the third trimester, “except when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.”
South Dakota outlaws abortion as a felony crime except in instances to save the life of the mother, under a trigger law that took effect in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion.
Abortion-rights supporters have prevailed on all seven statewide abortion ballot questions since the Dobbs decision. Voters in several other states are set to weigh in as well later this year.
___
Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.
veryGood! (62)
Related
- Utah AD Mark Harlan fined $40,000 for ripping referees and the Big 12 after loss to BYU
- 1 icon, 6 shoes, $8 million: An auction of Michael Jordan’s championship sneakers sets a record
- Man gets 12 years in prison in insurance scheme after posing as patients, including NBA player
- Are you happy? New film follows a Bhutan bureaucrat who asks 148 questions to find out
- Why Jersey Shore's Jenni JWoww Farley May Not Marry Her Fiancé Zack Clayton
- What's your favorite Lunar New Year dish? Tell us about it.
- Denver shooting injures at least 6 people, police say
- Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Inter Miami hear boos after Messi sits out Hong Kong friendly
- Olivia Munn Randomly Drug Tests John Mulaney After Mini-Intervention
- John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's Grammys 2024 Appearance Is No Ordinary Date Night
Ranking
- Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to kick off fundraising effort for Ohio women’s suffrage monument
- John Legend and Chrissy Teigen's Grammys 2024 Appearance Is No Ordinary Date Night
- Deion Sanders becomes 'Professor Prime': What he said in first class teaching at Colorado
- Bond denied for suspect charged with murder after Georgia state trooper dies during chase
- California farmers enjoy pistachio boom, with much of it headed to China
- Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick rule at pre-Grammy gala hosted by Clive Davis
- This Top-Rated Amazon Back Pain Relief Seat Cushion Is on Sale for Only $30
- Alix Earle Makes 2024 Grammys Debut After Forgetting Shoes
Recommendation
-
Pie, meet donuts: Krispy Kreme releases Thanksgiving pie flavor ahead of holidays
-
Taking the SAT in March? No need to sharpen a pencil
-
Bon Jovi rocks with Springsteen, McCartney dances in the crowd at Grammys MusiCares event
-
Lindsay Lohan Reveals Son Luai's Special Connection to Stephen and Ayesha Curry
-
Jake Paul's only loss led him to retool the team preparing him to face Mike Tyson
-
With Season 4 of 'The Chosen' in theaters, Jesus' life gets the big-screen treatment
-
A NSFW Performance and More of the Most Shocking Grammy Awards Moments of All Time
-
Maluma Reveals the Fatherhood Advice He Got From Marc Anthony