Judas Has a Face: Julie Bartling

When we think of the Wire Hanger State, what comes to mind?

The fact that the state legislature has been hijacked by outside interest groups?

The fact that the state has declared itself "pro-life"?

The fact that fetal rights trump women's lives?

Yes, yes and yes.

But did we know that the original supporters of this attack on women were not just Goons of the People?

Many would be horrified to learn that one of the bill's main sponsors is a democrat...AND a woman...

Senator Julie Bartling is a bag-o-douche.

Many also don't know that one of the bill's biggest opponents is a republican...and a man.

Senator Stan Adelstein strongly disagrees with the portion of the bill's text stating that life begins at conception, maintaining that it is inconsistent with Judaism.

Adelstein, chairman of his synagogue in the Black Hills, stands on the principle that state law should not be fashioned from any one group's religious beliefs.

When the senate rejected proposed exceptions to the near-total ban for women whose health was threatened by pregnancy, or for those who became pregnant through rape or incest, Senator Adelstein stated his belief that it would be a "a continued savagery unworthy of South Dakota" to compel a woman to remain pregnant and bear a child conceived as a result of rape.

Kudos to Senator Adelstein and Jeers to Senator bag-o-douche Bartling.