Many South Dakota evangelicals and conservative Catholics will surely be disappointed to hear that the widely publicized abortion ban has been overturned. This matches what polls have indicated for some time. The ban did not include clear exceptions for rape and incest, which even most pro-lifers (including President Bush) endorse.
But I wonder what to make of the data we have so far. Right now, with 40 percent of precincts reporting, 55 percent of voters want the ban overturned. But here’s the interesting data–only 52 percent of South Dakotans have voted for a ban on same-sex marriage. This would be an incredible development if less than 60 percent backed the ban. So what’s going on? Much of the western half of the state, an hour behind the east and much more conservative, hasn’t turned in their results. Expect the numbers to shift pretty dramatically. But it doesn’t look like the numbers will change enough to uphold the abortion ban.
