[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE: Greens vow to defend reproductive rights after SD bill is signed

[Jim Stauffer]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, March 7, 2006


Greens vow to defend full reproductive rights for
women after the South Dakota anti-abortion bill is
signed


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the wake of news that South
Dakota has outlawed most abortions, Green leaders
pledged party support for efforts to stop Roe v. Wade
from being overturned.

"This is a widely anticipated major step in the
radical Republican agenda to repeal women's rights,"
said Nan Garrett, co-chair of the Georgia Green Party
and spokesperson for the National Women's Caucus
<http://greens.org/gp-uswomen/>.  "The Green Party and
its candidates support full reproductive rights for
women.  If these rights are repealed or limited by a
Supreme Court decision upholding the South Dakota law,
we will hold accountable all those Senators who either
supported or refused to filibuster the confirmation of
Judge Roberts and Judge Alito."

On Monday, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed the
bill, which was passed by the state legislature in
February after supporters argued that the recent
appointment of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito
made the Supreme Court more likely to overturn
reproductive rights.  The bill outlaws all abortions,
including those performed in cases of rape or incest,
except when necessary to save a mother's life.

Greens called the South Dakota strategy part of a
larger effort by extremist Republicans to abolish
freedom and equality for women, cancel privacy rights,
and create law based on sectarian religious precepts.

For the Green Party, the right of women to control
their own bodies is nonnegotiable, and Greens call it
essential for every woman to have the right to safe,
legal abortion on demand
<http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#998980>.

"If Roe v. Wade is overturned and reproductive rights
can no longer be guaranteed at the federal level, we
will fight to keep abortion legal in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia," said Cara Jennings, Green
candidate for the City Commission (District 2) in Lake
Worth, Florida, in a March 14 election.  "The Green
Party is on the side of the majority of Americans, who
don't believe that the clock can be turned back 40
years."


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193