By Senator Tom Daschle and Secretary Donna Shalala
In 1898, South Dakota was the first state in the nation to give its citizens the right to overrule their politicians. In 2022, citizens in six states used these rights to repudiate the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision stripping women of their reproductive rights.
This stripping away of the most fundamental personal freedom imaginable, a woman’s right to determine whether and when to give birth, constitutes a breathtaking radicalism that is strongly opposed by the conservative voters in states like ours.
People on main streets across America deeply value personal freedom. On issues like gun control, that valuation can impose an extra burden on those who seek to explain why an automatic weapon in every household may not be the best idea.
But when the question is: whether a governor may set a six-week limit on a Florida woman’s reproductive rights, whether a woman who has been raped in South Dakota should be required by law to carry the rapist’s embryo to term, or whether women everywhere may be prevented by law from using a safe, FDA-approved pill to end a pregnancy born of contraceptive failure, that red state allegiance to personal freedom plays a very different role. It becomes the central protective pillar for reproductive rights.
Red state reverence for personal freedom is without a doubt the reason Roe’s basic reproductive rights equation has been affirmed, and Dobbs theft of that right rejected, in all six states where that question has thus far been put to a vote.
It is the reason vigorous efforts must now be made to let the people show the extremist politicians by direct vote what they think of their decision to put politics ahead of personal freedom.
And we are convinced it is the reason, when they do, that the Trump court’s theft of women’s reproductive freedom on the federal level will be reversed at the state level by voters who will make very, very sure the extremist politicians understand exactly how devoted they are to the personal freedoms of young men and women.
Direct democracy is the indispensable key to protecting reproductive freedom from gerrymandered legislatures because in states like ours these legislatures, responsive to the radical minorities who elect them, have, very frankly, gone nuts. Their laws, now in effect for tens of millions of people, give day-old embryos full rights of citizenship. They criminalize the termination of any pregnancy, even one resulting from rape or incest, at any stage, and by any means. They make termination to protect the life of the mother so difficult to obtain as to be meaningless. They paralyze doctors and nurses’ ability to protect women by threatening them with jail if anything they do is found after the fact to have run afoul of laws whose meaning is almost impossible to decipher.
Fortunately, in 11 deep red states, home to over 61 million Americans, including 22 million Floridians, direct democracy in the form of Citizen-Initiated Constitutional Amendments still exists. It is in these states that the fight for reproductive rights will be fought most fiercely in the years ahead.
Hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent undermining democracy in an effort to keep women’s rights off the ballot in these states. In South Dakota, for example, where Dakotans for Health, fresh from its work on the 2022 ballot initiative victory expanding Medicaid, has hundreds of young women and men on the streets collecting signatures to put restoration of Roe v. Wade rights on the Dakota ballot, while well-financed ads and billboards headlined “Decline to Sign” are being run fully 18 months before the constitutional amendment their sponsors oppose will be put to a vote.
Clearly those who oppose reproductive rights are afraid to let the people decide. Why? Because Kansas voters gave us quite a preview last August of what the people will say when given the chance. In a financially equal face-off, fought in the shadow of Roe’s obliteration, one in which voters were asked to affirm that there was no constitutional protection of any kind for reproductive rights in the Kansas Constitution, Kansans astounded pundits and pollsters alike by voting almost 60-40 that there was such a right.
Those who would steal reproductive rights know they are on the wrong side of personal freedom. Sure, they will spend hundreds of millions trying to obscure this fact. But when women ask for nothing more than to retain a right they have had for generations, the right to decide whether to have a child, their radical anti-abortion opponents will need every penny they can raise because sending freedom into oblivion remains a very hard job in America.
Donna Shalala, served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services from 1993 to 2001, she
is a former Member of Congress from Florida.
Tom Daschle, is the former Majority Leader of the United States Senate, who served as US
Senator of South Dakota from 1987 to 2005.
Update: Amendment G is officially on the 2024 ballot in South Dakota, and Amendment 4 is on the ballot in Florida. Both measures will restore abortion rights in their respective states, reversing current restrictions and ensuring reproductive freedom for millions.
Ways You Can Help Restore Reproductive Rights Now:
1. Social Share
You can increase your impact by 300% by sharing our campaign page with family and friends. Use your voice and your platforms to spread the word about the fight for abortion rights in South Dakota. Every share counts!
2. Follow Us on Social Media
Stay updated with important news and messaging by following us on social media. This is where you can keep track of key updates on our campaign to end the abortion ban and restore reproductive rights in South Dakota.
3. Relational Fundraising
You don’t have to write a check to help. Simply share our ActBlue link with your like-minded family and friends via social media, text, and email. This type of relational fundraising can amplify your contribution to our cause by 300%. Every dollar raised brings us closer to ending the abortion ban and restoring reproductive rights.
You can send check to Dakotans for Health, PO Box 2063, Sioux Falls, SD 57101 or donate online via ActBlue below (make sure you share after you do!)
Want to share the link with your network? Just copy and paste this link into your SMS, email, Facebook, LinkedIN and more:
5. Educate
Help distribute our handouts on the impact of the South Dakota abortion ban to your family and friends. Recruit supporters and encourage them to do the same. Education is a powerful tool in our fight for reproductive rights. Here is a copy of the handout you can print (front to back) from your home printer:
6. Share Your Story
Have you or a loved one been impacted by the abortion ban? Forced to leave the state for miscarriage care? Denied reproductive healthcare? Your story can make a difference. Share your experiences to help others understand the real impact of South Dakota’s total abortion ban, which has no exceptions for rape and incest. Click here to share your story right now.
7. Sign up!
Join our campaign to restore reproductive rights in South Dakota and stay informed about our efforts. Sign up now to receive important updates on our work and learn how you can help make a difference. Whether you’re passionate about reproductive freedom or have a personal story to share, your involvement is crucial.
The Battle So Far
Anti-abortion activists have tried multiple tactics to prevent the people of South Dakota from voting on this critical issue. First, they tried to intimidate our petition circulators. When that failed, they spread lies about our amendment. Despite their efforts, 55,000 South Dakotans signed our petition. Activists then rushed a law allowing people to withdraw their signatures, but not a single person agreed to withdraw. Their paid callers even tried to scam signers by pretending to be from the Secretary of State’s office.
When these tactics failed, they filed a lawsuit to remove abortion rights from the ballot. The lawsuit was dismissed, so they appealed to the South Dakota Supreme Court. It is time to let the people decide.
Make It Happen: Vote YES on Freedom Amendment G
Your involvement is crucial. Share our message, follow us on social media, engage in relational fundraising, volunteer your time, and educate your community. Together, we can overcome the opposition and restore reproductive rights in South Dakota. Let’s make it happen and vote YES on Freedom Amendment G!
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