FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Press Office
Dakotans for Health
605-610-8146
Lawsuit to Deny Vote on Reproductive Freedom "Dead on Arrival"
June 18, 2024
Sioux Falls, SD… Calling the Right to Life lawsuit seeking to deny South Dakotans the right to vote on reproductive freedom “Dead on Arrival,” sponsors of the Freedom Amendment said they have filed a federal motion that seeks to restrain LDF from making arguments in the state lawsuit that are contrary to the existing federal injunction.
“The Right to Life radicals are wrong on the facts and wrong on the law. They aren’t even aware that the law they are trying to use to claim our petition should be invalidated was itself invalidated over a year and half ago and no longer exists,” stated Rick Weiland, Co-Founder of Dakotans for Health and sponsor of the Freedom Amendment which would restore the rights women had for 50 years under the 1973 landmark decision Roe versus Wade. “This lawsuit is a disgraceful publicity stunt by zealots who like to use the law to tell other people how they should live their lives, but don’t like the law so much when it forces them to let the people decide,” Weiland said.
“It is a press release masquerading as a lawsuit, designed solely to allow the opponents of reproductive freedom to peddle more inflammatory lies about what they claim the Freedom Amendment would do,” added Nancy Turbak, Chair of the newly formed Freedom Coalition. “The truth is that what Freedom Amendment G would do is exactly what its name says it would. It would give the women of South Dakota back the freedom the extremists have had taken away,” Turbak stated.
In a last-ditch effort to undermine the democratic process, the Life Defense Fund (LDF) filed a lawsuit aiming to disenfranchise over 50,000 registered South Dakota voters who signed the Freedom Amendment petition to restore reproductive rights.
“The Life Defense Fund (LDF) and their decline to sign, anti-choice, anti-freedom "campaign" has relentlessly tried to impose their religious views on the people of South Dakota, defending a radical abortion ban that forces victims of rape and incest to carry to term, and women with dangerous problem pregnancies to endure unnecessary risks,” stated Rick Weiland.
“South Dakota’s total abortion ban imposes the beliefs of extreme ‘right-to-life’ politicians on the rest of us by force of law,” stated Turbak, a former state senator and magistrate judge from Watertown, South Dakota. "Amendment G, our Freedom Amendment gives the people the chance to repeal that ban and gives women back the reproductive rights we had for 50 years,” she added. “Extreme politicians and their lawyers know South Dakotans will vote for freedom, so they have gone to court to try to deny us both our right to vote and our right to choose our own health care. It really is as simple as that,” Turbak said.
Dakotans for Health submitted 54,281 signatures, from over 50,000 registered voters, to place an initiated amendment to overturn South Dakota’s abortion ban and restore the reproductive rights women had under the 1973 landmark decision, Roe v. Wade. Secretary of State Monae Johnson filed and certified the reproductive rights amendment on May 16th, qualifying it to be on the November ballot and letting the voter decide. Secretary Johnson determined a validation rate of 84.9%, 46,098 valid signatures, 11,081 more signatures than needed to meet the state’s 2024 initiated amendment requirement of 35,017.
“LDF has pulled out all the stops to try and deny the people the right to decide this issue at the ballot box. Eighteen months of bullying South Dakotans, ramming through a ridiculous “signature withdrawal” law then pretending to be from the Secretary of State’s office and asking people to remove their signatures. They could not produce a single valid signature withdrawal petition affidavit,” Weiland said. “They claimed people were tricked into signing then went zero for 723 on the random sample trying to find a signer who was tricked. If that does not give the lie to their false claims, and to this lawsuit, I don't know what will. They have thrown everything they could, and now the kitchen sink, to stop the voters from weighing in this November. Their lawsuit is DOA and we are confident that the people of South Dakota are going to be able to make this decision, not the politicians, come this November,” Weiland concluded.
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About Dakotans for Health:
Dakotans for Health is a grassroots organization focused on healthcare and protecting the democratic process. In 2024, our petitions to restore abortion rights in South Dakota and repeal the regressive state sales tax on groceries were certified and approved by the Secretary of State. Vote YES on Amendment G and IM 28! The organization was also instrumental in the successful 2022 campaign to expand Medicaid coverage to 52,000 low-income South Dakotans. Dakotans for Health is dedicated to ensuring all South Dakotans have access to the care they need, no matter who they are, what they look like, or how much money they have.
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