South Dakota Governor: Other Governors Support State Abortion Bans 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 28, 2006
Pierre, SD (LifeNews.com) — As he considers whether or not to sign legislation approved by state lawmakers that would ban virtually all abortions in the state, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds says his discussions of the bill with other governors shows some are supportive of a similar law in their own states.
Rounds told the Associated Press there has been "a lot of interest" in the ban in Washington, where he has been meeting with other governors at the National Governors Association meeting.
He told AP "a lot of governors" say they will pursue similar bans in their own states.
"There is a lot of interest in it here," Rounds said, adding that many governors suggested "they will have similar types of proposals that may very well be favorably looked upon across the United States."
Rounds also said many people attending the conference also have shown interest in contributing to a fund set up for any potential court battles if the bill is enacted.
Last week, the South Dakota state legislature became the first to approve an abortion ban following the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that allowed abortions throughout pregnancy for virtually any reason.
The measure only allows abortions in the very rare cases when necessary to save the life of the mother.
Rounds, who is pro-life, hasn’t signed the bill yet but said he is inclined to do so as long as it doesn’t have problems a similar bill had last time. He issued a veto earlier because the abortion ban would have removed all of the state’s pro-life laws while the measure was tied up in court.
Pro-life groups are split on whether this is the right time to pursue a ban and Planned Parenthood, which runs the only abortion business in the state, says it will take the ban to court immediately.
Some pro-life groups say the time is now to pursue a ban and a court case, while others point out that the court is split 5-4 in favor of Roe and that the potential fifth pro-life vote to overturn Roe may not be on the high court by the time the case gets there.
