A petition seeking to reinstate abortion rights in South Dakota has enough valid signatures to make the Nov. 5 ballot, though opponents have promised a legal challenge, reports NBC News.
South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson, a Republican, in a statement said her office had validated the petition for the ballot measure, which will appear on the ballot as “Constitutional Amendment G” and would “establish a right to abortion in the Constitution of South Dakota,” Johnson wrote.
Voters will vote up or down on prohibiting the state from regulating abortion before the end of the first trimester and allowing the state to regulate abortion after the second trimester, except when necessary to preserve the life or physical or emotional health of a pregnant woman.
Dakotans for Health, which sponsored the amendment, said in a statement Thursday that the signatures’ validation “certified that the people of South Dakota, not the politicians in Pierre, will be the ones to decide whether to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of South Dakota.”
South Dakota outlaws all abortions, except to save the life of the mother.
Opponents of the measure have until June 17 to file a challenge with Johnson’s office.
“We are grateful to the many dedicated volunteers who have put in countless hours, and we are resolute in our mission to defend unborn babies,” co-chairs Leslee Unruh and state Rep. Jon Hansen said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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