Life Defense Fund to appeal abortion decision

4 months ago 6

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The legal battle over whether abortion access will appear on the November ballot remains in question as Life Defense Fund intends to appeal the judge's decision to dismiss the case.

Life Defense Fund sued Dakotans for Health in June on the grounds of invalid petition signatures, hoping to get the amendment removed from the ballot. On Monday, State Circuit Judge John Pekas dismissed the lawsuit.

In a Tuesday night message attributed to Leslee Unruh, the co-chair for Life Defense Fund, Unruh said they plan to appeal, despite the fast-approaching deadline for ballot certification.

“Life Defense Fund will ask for an expedited order from the South Dakota Supreme Court because there are absolutely no legal grounds for this dismissal,” Unruh said in the message. “We will do everything we can to move this case as fast as possible.”

The deadline for the Secretary of State to certify copies of all ballot questions to the county auditors is August 13 and the deadline for ballots to be printed is September 18. Absentee voting begins September 20.

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