South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion

Over the past two days, members of the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion heard testimony from a number of individuals. These were days 4 and 5 of the summer study, which began working back on August 1. I thank everybody who traveled to Pierre and who joined us over the phone lines to provide their insights. Both the pro-life and pro-abortion sides have contributed lengthy testimony as the committee has conducted its business. The input from these people was oftentimes extraordinarily compelling. Also, thank you to the members of the committee. Things have been relatively cordial given the nature of the debate. The few spats have not resulted in any blood-shed as yet. Please stay tuned to this site over the next several days as I will be posting portions of testimony. Some statements will affirm your positions, others may astound you, regardless of which side you are on.

I strongly encourage you to listen to the testimony as it is made available online. To date, the audio of the first three days of meetings has been posted. The first day consisted largely of organizational matters. For those who choose to listen to the committee hearings and discussions, I would recommend starting with the testimony from September 21 & 22 and then proceeding to the Oct. 20-21 hearings. If you skip the Aug. 1 meeting, you're not missing much.

Here is one teaser of things to come. Executive Director Kate Looby of South Dakota's primary abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, expressed that some people just don't do babies and that's their choice. She continued that "I have four children, and I've bonded with each of them, but I don't do babies either." That statement seems consistent with her organization's position. After all, back on October 16, 1996, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota ran an ad in the Burnsville/Lakeville Sun-Current which stated "Babies are loud, smelly, and expensive. Unless you want one."