A Minnehaha County court judge is dismissing a case against the backers of an abortion rights ballot question.
An anti-abortion group sought to disqualify the petition and get the question removed from the November ballot.
Lawyers with Life Defense Fund brought five counts against the abortion rights group Dakotans for Health, seeking to disqualify about 150 signatures from the Secretary of State’s random signature sample.
The group was also seeking an opportunity for discovery, which included interviewing petition circulators for Dakotans for Heath’s abortion rights ballot question.
Judge John Pekas on Monday called the case a “collateral attack” against this particular ballot question effort. He told lawyers for Life Defense Fund that Secretary of State Monae Johnson should be challenged for the ballot question approval, not Dakotans for Health.
Jim Leach is the lawyer for Dakotans for Health. He said he hopes Life Defense Fund does not pursue the case any further.
“People want to vote. People signed petition to vote. We’re just saying let the people vote," Leach said. "They’re saying people shouldn’t be able to vote. Well, this is America, people should be able to vote.”
In a statement just a few hours after the decision, Life Defense Fund said they will appeal the case.
“Today, the judge dismissed our case that challenged the Dakotans for Health (DFH) abortion petition signatures. The case was brought because we have a mountain of evidence and hours of video footage showing that DFH deceived and tricked South Dakotans into signing their petition. The avoidant judge, however, made the outlandish claim out of nowhere, blindsiding both parties, that our case should have been a ‘writ of quo warranto’ against the Secretary of State, and therefore should be dismissed," said co-chair Leslie Unruh.
“However, there are no legal grounds for this dismissal as Life Defense Fund clearly followed the appropriate procedures. This unexpected dismissal further plays into their motive to delay our case and refuse to answer our documented allegations. We will follow the judge’s invitation to appeal this case," Unruh added.
The Secretary of State’s office has a deadline of Aug. 13 to certify ballot language to county auditors for the November election.
Constitutional Amendment G establishes abortion rights for the first two trimesters of pregnancy, but grants the state the ability to ban the procedure in the third—except in cases to preserve the health and life of the mother. Abortion opponents call the measure extreme. Other groups, like Planned Parenthood North Central States, say the measure won’t adequately reinstate the right to an abortion.
The state’s current abortion law bans the procedure in all cases, except to preserve the life of the mother.
