US abortion-rights supporters launched a drive today to overturn an abortion ban passed by the state of South Dakota.
The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families coalition filed with the state to begin collecting the 16,700 signatures needed to put the issue before the voters in November, Deputy Secretary of State Chad Heinrich said.
If the petition obtains the needed signatures by June 19th, the law would be put on hold until the voters decide in the November federal mid-term elections.
If insufficient signatures are gathered, the law would go into effect July 1st, leaving opponents with the option of challenging it in court.
A petition drive is aginst the expectations of abortion opponents, who have been counting on a legal challenge to the law in the hopes that the case would eventually make its way to the US Supreme Court.
With two conservative justices recently appointed to the high court, abortion opponents believe they have an improving chance of overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established the right to abortion.
Participants in the campaign to overturn the South Dakota law said before the drive was announced that a referendum may be preferable to filing a lawsuit.
"When you take things to the courts you don't have the opportunity to engage the public in the process. You don't have the ability to build a movement," said Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Kate Looby.
Republican South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signed the law March 6th. The measure bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of incest and rape, and says that if a woman's life is in jeopardy, doctors must try to save the life of the foetus as well as the woman.