A proposed abortion amendment in South Dakota may not have enough support to pass, new polling shows.
A survey from The Emerson College Polling/KELO-TV/The Hill found that 48 percent of likely voters oppose the proposed abortion measure, while 45 percent support it, and 5 percent are undecided. The measure would need a simple majority to pass and would override the state’s current law.
The survey revealed a large partisan split between supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Eighty-four percent of Harris supporters plan to vote for the abortion measure, while 71 percent of Trump supporters oppose the measure.
The proposed abortion amendment, put forward by the group Dakotans for Health, would allow abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy and would only allow the state to regulate abortion in the second trimester in ways related to the physical health of the pregnant woman. The amendment would allow abortion to be regulated or prohibited in the third trimester, except when necessary to preserve “the life or health” of the mother.
The measure, which will appear as Amendment G, states:
Before the end of the first trimester, the State may not regulate a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation, which must be left to the judgment of the pregnant woman.
After the end of the first trimester and until the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.
After the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate or prohibit abortion, except when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.
Abortion is currently outlawed in the state, except to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
South Dakota is one of ten states where abortion is on the ballot in November.
READ MORE: These Ten States Have Abortion on the Ballot in November
Ballot measures are particularly effective as an offensive weapon because they are basically irreversible. They change a state constitution, take precedence over laws passed by state legislatures, and can only be overturned by another ballot measure or lengthy legal battles. The measures are typically propped up by left-wing organizations and affiliates with deep pockets — such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, out-of-state dark money groups, and billionaires with eugenicist leanings — often outspending pro-life organizations by double or triple.
Every single pro-abortion-related ballot measure since the fall of Roe has been successful. During the 2022 special elections, Kansans rejected a ballot measure that would have established that the state Constitution does not include a right to abortion. During the 2022 midterms, voters in California, Michigan, and Vermont codified abortion into their Constitutions. At the same time, voters in Montana rejected a ballot measure that would have given rights to babies born alive in botched abortions. Voters in Kentucky also rejected an amendment similar to the one in Kansas. Last November, Ohioans also voted to codify the supposed right to abortion in their state Constitution via Issue 1.
The survey was conducted from Oct. 19-22 among 825 likely voters. The credibility interval, similar to a margin of error, is 3.3 percentage points.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.