A South Dakota judge recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by the anti-abortion group Life Defense Fund, which challenged a ballot measure on abortion rights that voters rejected earlier this month.
The lawsuit, initially filed in June, alleged that the petitions used to place the abortion measure on the ballot contained invalid signatures and fraudulent practices by circulators. Life Defense Fund sought to invalidate the measure and prevent the group from engaging in ballot-measure efforts for the next four years.
Circuit Court Judge John Pekas granted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, reinforcing the outcome of the public vote. Life Defense Fund co-chair Leslee Unruh stated that the dismissal affirmed that South Dakotans had decisively rejected the measure, emphasizing that the anti-abortion stance had prevailed in public opinion.
Dakotans for Health, the group behind the ballot measure, welcomed the dismissal, with co-founder Rick Weiland highlighting that the lawsuit was part of a broader attempt to undermine direct democracy in the state.
The case has faced delays, including a previous dismissal in July, followed by a Supreme Court remand in August, and scheduling confusion in September.
This lawsuit is part of an ongoing debate over abortion rights in South Dakota, which has seen strong opposition from the state’s Republican-led legislature. South Dakota passed a law criminalizing abortion except to save the life of the mother after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
This year, South Dakota joined Florida and Nebraska in rejecting abortion rights measures, while other states like California and Michigan passed such measures.