Halloween is here so it only makes sense that there's some spooky stuff going on in South Dakota (no, I'm not talking about the latest accusation that former legislator Ted Klaudt lured a woman to his hotel room with promises of a modeling contract - although that is indeed terrifying.)
I don't know what comes to mind when you think of things that go bump in the night, but my nightmares usually feature Leslee Unruh, Roger Hunt or a combination of the two. After laying low for the past year, they're back. (Is it just me or does that phrase remind anyone else of Poltergeist II?)
Even though Attorney General Larry Long has announced the State of South Dakota will appeal a judge's ruling that anti-choice legislator Roger Hunt doesn't have to reveal the $750,000 donor to last year's campaign to ban abortion, Hunt is undeterred.
The representative has said on numerous occasions that in all likelihood, an abortion ban will be back and it will end up on the ballot in 2008. That kind of talk is scarier than anything you'll see in Saw XV or whatever they're on now.
The anti-choice movement in South Dakota kind of reminds me of a werewolf or a vampire or something - it cannot be killed by normal means!
The radical right has no plans to give up their extreme agenda, despite being defeated last November and the Republican Attorney General and Secretary of State's vows to continue to pursue the campaign finance issue.
In fact, word around the blogosphere is that a large group of anti-choice movers and shakers recently met in Pierre to start strategizing their next attack on reproductive rights. (Think of how much more damage Godzilla and Mothra could have done to Tokyo if they had been this organized!)
While some organizations like South Dakota Right to Life aren't on board with the strategy, Hunt and Unruh have plenty of support from big name and big money out-of-state players like the Thomas More Law Center and Operation Rescue who want to see South Dakota challenge Roe v. Wade head on.
In a letter recently published on the their Web site, Operation Rescue President Troy Newman asks South Dakota anti-choicers to "swing for the fences" to outlaw abortion because "the people of South Dakota are best positioned" to take on Roe.
It's this exciting? Thanks to some out-of-state wackjob's idea of our 'position,' we get to look forward to another round of crazy evangelists invading our state, lining the streets with their gruesome, inaccurate photos and telling us how we're all going to hell while we try to get to class. I cannot wait!
It's obvious the garlic we've been using isn't working - we're going to need the equivalent of a silver bullet or a stake through the heart to take down this monster.
Whether another ban gets on the ballot through the legislature or the initiative process, it's time to send the message that we're sick of ridiculous, insulting and unconstitutional legislation, whether it has zero exceptions or 20. If Hunt, Unruh and their ilk see the futility of this legislative agenda, we can prevent South Dakota Abortion Ban: Part III, Part IV, The Return of the South Dakota Abortion Ban, Bride of the South Dakota Abortion Ban ad infinitum.
The truth is our greatest weapon. This Halloween, let's use it to clear the monsters out of the closets and the sweep the bogeymen from underneath the bed.
And remember, if Roger Hunt shows up at your door, he cannot come in if you don't invite him!
Reach columnist Kelsey Collier-Wise at collier.wise@gmail.com.
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