North Dakota Attorney Lawyer

The waiting room at the hospital was scheduled parents packed by the time the doctor arrived - an hour too late, because the weather delays in Minneapolis.

It was day of the clinic, one day per week if the only institution in South Dakota, abortion may be the case for patients. This time, it was a Wednesday. The week before it was a Monday.

The day changes depending on the schedules of four doctors from Minnesota, fly here on a rotating basis to abortion, which is not a doctor in South Dakota. The last doctor in South Dakota, for abortions stopped about eight years, the consensus in the medical community is that the procedure is not worth the stigma of being one of branded items Baby Killer.

South Dakota, on both sides of the abortion debate agree, has become one of the difficult conditions in the country in order to obtain an abortion. One of the three states of the country have only one abortion provider - North Dakota and South Mississippi are the others - South Dakota, largely because of a strong antiabortion entry, is also a leading national laboratories for the examination of the limits of state laws limiting abortion, “Both opponents and supporters of abortion rights say.

During 2005, the legislature, South Dakota passed five laws restricting abortion, after a bill on the definitive ban on abortion, by a vote during the year 2004. And new laws are virtually assured for the coming year. A 17-member task force of abortion, largely standhafter opponents of abortion, recommendations to the legislature earlier this month, which also includes some of the more stringent requirements on abortion the country.

The report states that science defines life as beginning at the design and recommends a law that fetuses the same protection that children after birth, so that the prohibition of abortion. Pending such a ban, the Task Force recommends that the property of a woman see an ultrasound examination of her fetus that doctors warn women about the physical and psychological dangers of abortion, and that women receive counselling on abortion, in addition to other measures.

Given that national leaders on both sides of the debate on abortion focuses on the imminent appointment of Supreme Court hearing of Samuel A. Alito Jr., they observe States such as South Dakota pass more and more restrictions, which may be followed by a new constitution, rather conservative Supreme Court.

“Samuel Alito wrote the model 20 years in How to Dismantle and eventually reverse Roe,” said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, with regard to Alito a message written in the year 1985, in which he referred to the transfer restrictions on abortion as a way to mitigate the impact of Roe v. Wade. “If confirmed, Alito could vote decisive occupation, which allows new attacks against the reproductive freedom of women by States. ”

But Mary Spaulding Balch, director of the department of national legislation National Right to Life campaign, said South Dakota is one of many countries that have had success in passing laws the organization has been espousing for more than 30 years.

“The work in the fact that the Supreme Court ruled that the law allows him to kill unborn children,” she says, “A matter of common sense that you do your best to save lives, what you can . ”

Each week, from 15 to 20 women or any South Dakota find their way to Sioux Falls parental scheduled for an abortion, no easy feat for many of them. South Dakota is the country of origin of some of the poorest districts of the country, including the poorest, Buffalo County, seat of the Crow Creek Sioux-booking. Prohibits any state law of public funds for $ 450, including cases of rape or incest. Besides costs, there is the distance. It is a long SLOG places like here, Rapid City, about 350 kilometers in the western part of the country. For some women, the only way to do it - and not pay for a hotel room - is it the 700 miles of road a day.

“Women in the west of the State do not believe that, on abortion until they need,” said Kate Looby, Planned for parents, the state director, and then they are completely shocked, it is not possible, treatment, unless they go to Sioux Falls. “Even women in a medical emergency or life-threatening have only one hospital, he is for abortion d urgency, she added. “A hospital. Across the country, in Sioux Falls. ”

At a recent clinic day, 13 women were abortion, but the waiting room was aboard the more than 30 people - patients, spouses, children, parents and friends. Some patients come from afar have their young children because it was unable to care for a child. Others, like a woman 23 years, led here at the dawn of Rapid City with her boyfriend, left their children at home and could turn right back on abortion after their return to their families.

“I succeeded amounted to abort to Rapid City,” said the woman, a girl of 2 years. “And I did not know it was so expensive. We had to borrow money to come here. ”

The woman was pregnant for 45 days, she says, when it has 350 miles of abortion RU-486 pill and take then back. “I did, to come home to my daughter,” said the woman, said she worked full time and attending college part-time medical administrator. (And the others interviewed did not want its name in the newspaper.) The woman said she had decided on abortion because “I can not afford another child, and I need for school and work Taking charge that I have received. “She receives $ 50 per month for the child and less than $ 200 per month in food stamps, but are not eligible for any other public assistance because of their full-time job.