SD abortion law goes to the voters

Now we'll find out if the anti-choicers really mean all that "will of the people" stuff, or if it is just so much more right-wing nonsense.

That infamous, extraordinarily restrictive anti-abortion law in South Dakota will go before the state's voters, who will get the final word as to whether it stands or falls.

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Monday that the law's opponents had collected enough signatures to put a question on the November ballot asking voters if the law should go into effect as planned or be dumped.

The state's abortion law, among the strictest in the nation, bans the procedure in all cases except when necessary to save a woman's life, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Supporters hoped it would prompt a court challenge that would give the U.S. Supreme Court an opportunity to overturn its 1973 Roe. v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. But instead, opponents, who argue the law is too extreme, gathered enough petition signatures to put the question directly to voters.

Call me cynical, but I suspect that if the good people of South Dakota give thumbs-down to the law, conservatives will suddenly lose faith in the collective wisdom of the voters, much the same way the Federal Marriage Amendment made them lose faith in the concept of "states' rights."