speaking of Dat Ol' Tyme Religion...

lost in the greater issues of the day, like, uh, falconry and shipping containers, South Dakota has passed a statewide ban on abortion. there are no exceptions made for rape or incest, and no exception made for the health of the woman - only her life. the law also maintains that life begins, not at conception, but at fertilisation, also making emergency contraceptives like Plan B illegal. the criminal penalties fall not on the mother, but on any doctor who performs a procedure or prescribes some pills.

this has no great practical implications for most women in South Dakota - they were already fucked. it was virtually impossible to get an abortion in that state prior to the passage of this bill. only one clinic performed abortions in the whole of the state - and it's a pretty big state. procedures were performed only one day a week - and the clinic had to fly in staff from minnesota, as in-state doctors were afraid of reprisals against them were it known they were killin' babies and such.

this does have great practical implications for abortion in this country, particularly in the wake of the supreme court appointments. one of the arguments made against passing this bill in the state was the ultimate cost to the state in legal fees - this is intended to go all the way to the supreme court, and it well may. an anonymous donor has pledged one million dollars to the state for use in fighting court battles on this law.

NARAL has proven itself pretty useless lately, but there are other ways of making your opinions heard. if you do not believe women to be Property of the State, boycott South Dakota. sure, you may not have ever in your life wanted to go there anyway. about all it's got going for it is mount rushmore. and... mount rushmore. but it is home to some high-profile companies: IAMS, Gateway Computers, and probably most of the companies who issue your credit cards. the CITI Financial credit card nexus is located there.

it is possible to contact the companies one-to-one, but i suggest a call to the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce. david owen, president of the CoC, is not in the office, and will not be til march, as the legislature is in session, but charlotte is there right now, answering phones. she will probably give you something simpering about 'protecting the unborn'.

SD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Commerce Center
200 N. Phillips, Avenue, Suite 304
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone: 605-224-6161
Fax: 605-331-2536
davido@sdchamber.biz

the full member directory is available here.

again, feel free to contact companies on a one-to-one basis. i myself do not seem to have many dealings with South Dakota, as i have no credit cards, none of my animals eat IAMS, i don't eat morell ham, gateway sucks balls, i don't drive polaris snowmobiles and i don't wear gold jewelry, from the Black Hills or otherwise. you might. if you feel strongly about this issue, it might be worth considering alternatives.

i will no longer be eating claussen pickles, though. that does make me sad. they are delicious pickles.