Abortion law in South Dakota gets more strict

Chicago: In a victory for antiabortion forces, doctors in South Dakota are now required to tell a woman seeking an abortion that the procedure "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being."

The US Court of Appeals last week lifted a preliminary injunction that prevented the language from taking effect. A spokesman for Planned Parenthood, which runs the state's only abortion clinic, said doctors will begin reciting the script to patients as early as this week.

Referendum

On another front, South Dakota voters will be asked in a November 4 referendum to consider broad limits on abortion for the second time since 2006. The ballot measure includes exceptions for rape, incest and the woman's health that were not part of the 2006 wording rejected by voters.

Antiabortion forces in South Dakota have been trying for years to halt the procedure and to build a winnable challenge to the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalising abortion nationwide.

About 700 abortions are performed in South Dakota each year.

The doctors' script that officially took effect Friday has been tied up in court since 2005, when Planned Parenthood challenged a law that instructed physicians what to tell abortion patients.

"The law is one more terrible, terrible barrier," said Sarah Stoesz, president of the regional Planned Parenthood office, in a comment.

- Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service