The South Dakota Catholic Conference supports House Concurrent Resolution 6008, a measure that expresses the legislature’s opposition to an initiated measure that would add a “right to abortion” to the state constitution of South Dakota.
HCR 6008 recognizes that the right to life is the “most basic and fundamental right”, and that the protection of this right is the “principal duty of government.” The resolution describes how the proposed abortion amendment would thwart the government’s ability to fulfill its duty of protecting life, by permitting abortions throughout pregnancy, including when a preborn child is capable of surviving outside the womb. The resolution also warns that the abortion amendment would overturn numerous provisions in South Dakota law that are designed to protect the health and safety of pregnant women.
In the pastoral letter Bearing the Face of Jesus, the bishops of South Dakota state:
“The abortion amendment, if adopted, would turn the constitution into a self-contradictory document that undermines the very principles it was designed to protect. It would declare that an entire class of South Dakota’s most vulnerable citizens—preborn children—are ‘non-persons’ who enjoy no protection under the law.”
HCR 6008 helps shine a spotlight on the destructive consequences of passing the abortion amendment and reaffirms the South Dakota legislature’s longstanding recognition of the rights of preborn children.
