Pro-Life Democrats Group: South Dakota Abortion Ban a Bipartisan Effort 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 11, 2006
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A national organization for pro-life Democrats says the abortion ban the South Dakota legislature approved earlier this year shows the progress that can be made when pro-life lawmakers of both parties work together. Democrats for Life of America says pro-life Democrats haven’t received enough credit for their work on the bill.
DFLA noted that a pro-life Democratic Senator, Julie Bartling, who introduced the legislation in the Senate.
On the House side, one-third of House Democrats, including 3 Democratic women, sponsored the House version, the group said.
Ultimately, the organization says the bill would not have passed without the votes of pro-life Democrats as they made up for Republican lawmakers who voted against the bill.
“Pro-life Democrats in South Dakota saved the day on this bill," Kristen Day, the director of Democrats for Life, said in a statement provided to LifeNews.com.
"There were just as many Democrats who voted for this legislation as there were Republicans voting against it. So when it comes to protecting the unborn, pro-life Democrats stepped in and gave the voiceless, a voice in South Dakota," she explained.
Pro-life Democrats in the Louisiana and Mississippi state legislatures have been instrumental in promoting abortions bans in those states.
Sen. Ben Nevers, a Democrat, is the sponsor of a Louisiana bill that would ban virtually all abortions there. The measure only allows abortions to prevent the death of the mother and Nevers has opposed efforts to add rape and incest exceptions to the ban.
"Lord knows I would never want to hurt a mother, in any way. Lord knows I would never want to hurt a victim of rape or incest," he said. "A crime committed by a rapist should not result in the death of an unborn child."
Pro-life Democrats also make the difference when it comes to abortion votes in Congress.
In the most recent vote, on Wednesday, to keep the prohibition on military doctors and hospitals from doing abortions, some 30 pro-life Democrats made up for pro-abortion Republican defections on defeating the amendment. Without their vote, the proposal would have been approved.
Related web sites:
Democrats for Life of America – https://www.DemocratsForLife.Org
