Anti-abortion money already pouring into South Dakota

[Shelor]

As the nation watches South Dakota to see whether Gov. Mike Rounds will sign a bill banning nearly all abortions in the state, abortion-rights supporters are already preparing legal action against the measure. Meanwhile, the House took the first steps Thursday to establish a special legal fund for abortion-related lawsuits, and some anti-abortion groups across the country are encouraging peers to send money to the state to fund a potential legal battle on the ban.

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A legal battle over the ban could potentially cost the state millions in legal fees, and Hunt recently testified to the House State Affairs Committee that the governor has received a pledge of $1 million from an anonymous donor. Rounds said he doesn't know who the donor is and that he's only heard a rumor that such a donor exists.

Amendments to HB1215 on both the House and Senate floors to establish a legal fund to collect such donations for a lawsuit have failed, but Hunt introduced a new bill Thursday that seeks to create a "life protection litigation" subfund. The "life protection subfund" is to be established under the state's existing extraordinary litigation fund. The legislature may put money into the fund, and private donations can be deposited there by the Bureau of Administration.

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At least one group of abortion opponents - Operation Rescue - is urging like-minded individuals to send donations to Rounds for the fund.

"We understand Gov. Rounds' financial concerns about the cost of litigating this law and promise, again, to do all we can to network with pro-life and pro-family groups to help ensure there are adequate resources to defend this bill all the way to the Supreme Court," Operation Rescue's president, Troy Newman, said in a statement Thursday.


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