Abortion rights activists rallied outside the Iowa statehouse Thursday to protest a new South Dakota law that bans nearly all abortions. The group of about 70 chanted “33 years it’s been this way. Roe v. Wade is here to stay” — referring to the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in America.
Roz Lehman of Planned Parenthood organized the event. “We are standing in support of the women of South Dakota due to the recent legislation that is banning abortions in South Dakota,” she says.
On Monday, South Dakota’s governor signed that ban on all abortions but those performed to save the life of the mother — although that ban is not in effect because it will be tied up in legal challenged for several years. “A while ago, I would say, we wouldn’t even have thought this would happen in South Dakota,” Lehman says. “You never know, so we’re here to stand up for the women and we’re here to say ‘We’re not going to let this happen in Iowa.'”