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Thursday, March 16, 2006

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PIERRE, S.D. -- An out-of-state abortion rights group said Wednesday it would drop a petition drive that would have given voters a say on the state's new abortion ban.

The decision came as a South Dakota political group urged Basic-Abortion-Rights Network of Waukesha, Wis., to withdraw. Focus: South Dakota said it wanted to spearhead its own petition drive and wanted it to be "a totally South Dakota operation."

"Our current plan is to just let the people in South Dakota send their petition in," said Noah Beck Hahn-Walter, a representative for the Wisconsin group.

The legislation, due to be enacted July 1, would ban all abortions except those necessary to save women's lives. Supporters said their goal was to spark a legal battle leading the Supreme Court to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Jim Robinson, treasurer for Focus: South Dakota, said a formal announcement on the petition drive will be made once other abortion rights advocates in South Dakota decide if they will join the effort. He said the group expects to gather about 50,000 signatures.

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Organizers are required to get 16,728 signatures by June 19 to place the measure on the ballot. If the petition drive is successful, the law would automatically be placed on hold rather than going into effect this summer.

Earlier, Planned Parenthood's South Dakota director, Kate Looby, said she thought the Wisconsin group jumped the gun because people in South Dakota have not decided whether the proposed abortion ban should go to court or to the voters. It could be a week or so before Planned Parenthood decides if it will file a legal challenge to the proposed law, Looby said.

Leslee Unruh, an anti-abortion advocate in Sioux Falls, said the referendum campaign proves that abortion-rights supporters know they would lose in court, she said.

"This is a desperate maneuver to avoid a legal confrontation where the facts and evidence presented will overwhelmingly support enforcement of the South Dakota abortion ban," Unruh said.

© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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