An abortion rights initiative makes the ballot in conservative South Dakota

By JACK DURA
Associated Press

A abortion rights ballot initiative is going before South Dakota voters this November. The secretary of state’s office says about 85% of the more than 55,000 signatures submitted in support of the ballot initiative were valid, exceeding the required 35,017 signatures. The measure faces an uphill battle in the conservative state where a trigger law banning nearly all abortions went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Voters of seven other states have already approved abortion rights ballot measures, including four that wrote abortion rights into their constitution.