Badlands, South Dakota

Early voting began this week for the abortion ban in South Dakota – yes, again, 3 years later. The ban would basically make it impossible for women to have an abortion in the state, and doctors could face felony charges (up to 10 years in the slammer!!) for doing the procedure.

The 2006 proposal was rejected by voters, mainly because there were no exceptions. This year’s version would allow women who were raped, victims of incest, or who face difficult medical complications due to pregnancy.

The state had one clinic that offered abortions (Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls), but it closed in July after a new law required doctors to inform patients of the humanity of the fetuses within hours of the abortion taking place. Doctors could even be sued for not complying.

Photo by BridgePix

The GOP’s 2 favorite topics…

“I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party. And I also feel that — and I’m not trying to equivocate here — that Americans want us to work together. You know, [former Pennsylvania Governor] Tom Ridge is one of the great leaders and he happens to be pro-choice. And I don’t think that that would necessarily rule Tom Ridge out … I think it’s a fundamental tenet of our party to be pro-life but that does not mean we exclude people from our party that are pro-choice. We just have a — albeit strong — but just it’s a disagreement. And I think Ridge is a great example of that. Far more so than [New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg, because Bloomberg is pro-gay rights, pro, you know, a number of other issues.”

Well, at least he’s not hating on those who prefer to let women and their doctors decide whether they want an abortion, but is he really taken aback by Bloomberg who is “pro-gay rights, pro, you know, a number of issues”? I find it interesting that McCain is alright with allowing pro-choicers into the Republican mix, but gays? Hell-to-the-no, as Maya Rudolph as Whitney Houston would say.

Wapo via Sullivan

Photo by Image Editor