Leslee Unruh Admits She Drafted South Dakota's Abortion Ban Law

I called the Sioux City Journal yesterday because I wanted to confirm that Unruh, president and founder of the Alpha Center in Sioux Falls, wrote the first draft of House Bill 1215, which was sponsored by state Rep. Roger Hunt and numerous others.

Nicole Paseka, the reporter who wrote the article, wasn't there, but I did speak to a very helpful ?editor (as usual, forgot to ask his name) who opined that, in the context of the article, it looks like the reporter obtained the authorship info directly from Ms. Unruh. So, until we hear from Ms. Paseka, assume it's true that Leslee Unruh wrote the first draft of House Bill 1215.

[Update: I heard back from the reporter and she confirms that Leslee Unruh told her she authored the first draft of South Dakota's abortion ban law. More on my conversation with Ms. Paseka at the end of the post.]

Question for you political types out there: Is this how the process works? Any ideologue person off the street drafts legislation, then finds a politico to sponsor his/her domination fantasies laws? I understand that private citizens can (and should) participate in the process, by presenting, and discussing their views with their elected representative. But I wasn't aware that ordinary people, with no pertinent expertise, get to actually draft laws.

In any case, back to All in the Family, the South Dakota Version.

Leslee Unruh, a person with no legislative or medical qualifications, drafts a law governing the medical care of female patients in South Dakota. She is also the the chief of the pro-ban campaign.

Alan Unruh, Leslee Unruh's husband, a chiropractor, sits on the South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortions, and is tasked with studying and evaluating medical evidence, reporting the findings, and making recommendations on the need for any additional legislation governing ob/gyn medical procedures. Of note (emphasis mine):

Though it was designated a bipartisan committee, the task force ended up with a voting bloc of nine staunchly antiabortion members--a mix of antiabortion legislators, doctors, a Catholic antiabortion lobbyist and Dr. Alan Unruh, a chiropractor whose wife, Leslee Unruh, is the founder of Abstinence Clearinghouse. From the first meeting onward, the antiabortion majority refused to conduct the investigation with stringent scientific guidelines, as is standard in most research committees. Alan Unruh even protested that such restrictions would exclude research based on ideology.

More importantly, according to the task force's own criteria, due to Alan Unruh's admitted biases and organizational affiliations (he helped his wife start local Right to Life chapters throughout the state) his opinions are suspect and his work isn't credible. [So, why was Leslee Unruh's husband selected to be on the task force? Why not Ms. Unruh's car mechanic, or her postman?]

Dr. Mark Rector, allegedly Leslee Unruh's son-in law, a Family Practitioner, appears in an pro-ban ad and lies about the law's content.

Rep. Roger Hunt, the man behind the abortion task force, one of its members, and one of the abortion ban law's sponsor, as well as...wait for it...the very same person who sets up a corporation which is the biggest contributor to the pro-ban campaign:

The biggest contributor to the pro-ban campaign was a corporation set up in September by state Rep. Roger Hunt, the abortion bill's prime sponsor; it made two donations of $250,000 each.

Even if you wanted to, I'm not sure you could make this stuff up.

So, there you have it. Lording over, and bamboozling the people of South Dakota appears to be a All in the Cartel Family operation.

One final note about my conversation with Ms. Paseka, the very gracious Sioux City Journal reporter. [She took the time to return my call and answer my questions; I was trying to get a feel for the local attitudes about the abortion ban.]

She said that people in the area are aware of the national implications of this law [hey, it's an honor when your Overlords decide to use you and your health as national guinea pigs], and that Iowans are mostly puzzled by the goings on in South Dakota.

Her general impression about the mood in [rural] South Dakota is that, because people there are very religious, for them it's more a matter of faith--not so much considering the legal or medical implications of a ban on a medical procedure, but rather following the direction of their religious leaders.

Which makes me wonder, even if you are a religious person, when you are lied to, and taken advantage of, do you not mind; does it not matter to you?