Tribe considers opening abortion clinic (South Dakota)

[Judi Lynn]

April 2, 2006, 1:52AM
Tribe considers opening abortion clinic
South Dakota Indians not bound by near-total ban that starts July 1

By STEPHANIE DESMON
Baltimore Sun

In South Dakota, where lawmakers last month passed a near-total ban on abortion, the leader of one of the state's American Indian tribes is proposing to circumvent the legislation by establishing an abortion clinic on an Indian reservation — within reach of women, but outside the reach of the strict new law.

Cecelia Fire Thunder, a former nurse who is the first female president in the history of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said it was "an eye-opener" when legislators approved a law that prohibits abortion in nearly all cases — even when the pregnancy is the product of a rape or incest. The only exception is to save the mother's life.

"An Indian reservation is a sovereign nation and we're going to take it as far as we can to exercise our sovereignty," said Fire Thunder, whose Pine Ridge Reservation encompasses 2.7 million acres in southwestern South Dakota.

Because federally recognized American Indian tribes are not, in many cases, required to abide by state law, a clinic could operate lawfully at Pine Ridge even with a ban in place, said South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long. Tribes are, in many respects, treated as foreign nations.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3764641.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I hope this happens

and that they set up a website for donations to the tribe.

[xultar]

2. That would be FUCKIN AWESOME...I'd like to see how SD handles that

because if the state government says nothing it shows that when it comes to live only white ones count.

On the other hand if they attempt to close it down they are trampling on native american reservation rights.

:popcorn:

[xchrom]

3. lol -- please, please, please!

can you IMAGINE those south dakotan legislators and their little pea brains?