Vote No on Measure 11

My South Dakota friends (to borrow a phrase), there's an issue on your ballot next Tuesday about which I feel so strongly that I'm willing to dive head first into a murky pool that most people would rather avoid.

Measure 11 seeks to "prohibit abortions except in cases where the mother's life or health is at a substantial and irreversible risk, and in cases of reported rape and incest."

There is perhaps no issue as emotionally-charged as abortion. It seems nearly impossible to engage in logical, fact-based discourse on the matter, although I will attempt to do so here.

Those familiar with the 2006 failed referendum know that Measure 11 also seeks to make abortion illegal, but this version has added exceptions where the prior version had none. These exceptions are vague and open to interpretation, which could have repercussions for both women and their doctors.

Notably, the new law would make an exception in cases of rape or incest only if it is reported to law enforcement. The woman must also submit to DNA testing, presumably to prove the identity of the father. Could this leave the door open to prohibit an abortion in cases of incest by a non-biological relative or rape by a boyfriend/husband? These requirements will prolong the suffering for victims and could delay the procedure - possibly past the 20 week window.

Abortion to preserve the mother's health seems to be some kind of joke worthy of air quotes (see John McCain in the third debate). Measure 11 permits abortion "to prevent death or the serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily organ or system." While the latter is almost completely a judgment call, even the risk of death can be debated.

Presumably - although not specified in the measure - medical professionals would determine the health risks involved. However, doctors who perform abortions in South Dakota, should Measure 11 pass, could be charged with a felony and serve jail time. In essence, they would be asked to pit their own best interests against those of their patients. The state's medical community opposes Measure 11.

Measure 11 would have marginal impact on abortion in South Dakota. The state already has what are widely considered to be the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. In 2005, South Dakota women obtained abortions at about one quarter the national rate.

Should Measure 11 pass - a recent poll indicates opinions are tied with 12% undecided - it will certainly be challenged at taxpayer expense. Measure 11 would put South Dakota in direct violation of the Due Process Clause granted by the 14th Amendment. South Dakota would be the first state to make abortion illegal, projecting Measure 11's sponsors into the spotlight to challenge Roe v. Wade on the national stage.

It's unlikely that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. No one likes abortion. No one aspires to have one. And I'd posit that no one considers it "birth control" as proponents of Measure 11 suggest.

Abortion is not the problem. Lack of access to or ignorance about birth control is the problem. Abstinence-only sex education is the problem. Incest is the problem. Rape is the problem. Tragic physical complications are the problem, albeit the only one over which we have no control. And yes, careless behavior is also the problem.

Here, perhaps, is where opinions begin to diverge and emotions begin to heighten. It can be a challenge to separate facts from feelings. The most common argument I hear from people I know who oppose abortion rights is [fill in the blank] got pregnant when they didn't want to and now can't imagine life without the child.

It's difficult, emotionally, to disagree with that. Logically, however, we know that nothing is that simple. Nor is it fair or accurate to impose our own perspective and experience onto the lives of others.

What [fill in the blank] has and Measure 11 would take away: a choice. There are a multitude of reasons why a woman might make a different choice. Anyone who has pondered this choice would likely consider it the most difficult decision of her life, regardless of the outcome.

We all know that the first abortion was not performed in 1973. Abortions have gone on since the beginning of human life on Earth. It's estimated that as many as 1.2 million illegal abortions were performed annually before Roe v. Wade. That's about the same number as were performed in 2005, despite about 100 million more people in the country. That means the rate was higher than it is today.

The difference between legal and illegal abortions is this: estimates range from hundreds to thousands of women dying every year in botched, back alley abortions. Deaths have been negligible since Roe v. Wade. A woman seeking to end a pregnancy will find a way to get it done. We can either permit access to a safe procedure or risk the complications of DIY abortions.

Is it really government's place to position itself in the middle of this complex, personal decision? If you believe it should remain the decision of a woman, her doctor and whomever she chooses to involve (with the country's most strict regulations already in place), vote NO on Measure 11.