More on "Bypass" Campaign Bypass South Dakota--and Let South Dakota Know! States That Ban Abortion Will Pay a PriceLet's Rush More Tourists Away from South Dakota! Cancel Your Citibank Card!Show solidarity with the women of South Dakota by flexing your tourism and consumer muscles. Bypass South Dakota, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the Black Hills and the Corn Palace until South Dakota's cruel ban on abortion is repealed. South Dakota depends on it $2 billion tourism industry and your tourism dollars. No self-respecting feminist will want to vacation or do business in a state that deprives women of a fundamental right, endangers their life and health, and seeks to also deprive women nationwide of reproductive liberty. The ban, passed on March 6, 2006, does not even permit abortion in cases of rape, incest or gross fetal abnormality. It will imprison physicians who perform abortions for up to five years if it takes effect July 1. The Legislature explicitly passed the ban as a test case, hoping a challenge of the draconian ban will go before the newly rightwing Supreme Court, and overturn Roe v. Wade and abortion rights nationwide. Did you know that this session, South Dakota legislators who voted to ban abortion also defeated a bill that would have allowed a judge to terminate the parental rights of rapists? Yes, in South Dakota, under the new law, rape victims who could not afford to travel out of state would be forced to carry to term unwanted pregnancies and their rapists would then have the right to seek custody! The Legislature similarly defeated a bill requiring hospitals to tell rape victims about the availability of emergency contraception. The South Dakota ban is a threat not just to women in South Dakota, but to women's rights nationwide. Our "bypass South Dakota" campaign is a natural. It already has resulted in nationwide coverage in USA Today, The New York Times and countless dailies around the nation. (See Media Coverage) Your participation is a simple way to fight back, and will send a chilling message not just to South Dakota, but to several states considering similar bans. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families has garnered nearly twice the number of signatures required by law to place the abortion ban on the fall ballot in South Dakota, giving voters a chance to repeal South Dakota's inhumane law. Your active participation in the "bypass South Dakota" campaign is a way for you to directly help South Dakota activists achieve the repeal. If voters don't care about women's rights, they may care about the economic ramifications. Below are several easy ways you can help: Contact South Dakota TourismPlease let the State of South Dakota know you will not be traveling to South Dakota until the abortion ban is overturned. It isn't enough to stay home--please let South Dakota officials and media know! James D. Hanen, Secretary Office of Tourism Department of Tourism and State Development (605)773-3301 sdinfo@state.sd.us Write or E-Mail South Dakota DailiesPlease write a short letter or e-mail announcing your intention to "bypass South Dakota" until the legislature or people of South Dakota overturn the abortion ban. Short, succinct letters concentrating on one or two points are most apt to be published. Be sure to include your full name, mailing address (not just e-mail name and address), and day and evening telephone numbers. Write or e-mail South Dakota newspapers, including:
Aberdeen American News Argus Leader
P.O. Box 5034
Black Hills Pioneer
Brookings Register Capital Journal
Huron Plainsman
Madison Daily Leader
Mitchell Daily Republic Rapid City Journal
Watertown Public Opinion
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan Cancel Citibank Cards!Citibank advertises itself as the nation's largest bank, and it's headquartered in South Dakota. Canceling your Citibank card is the easiest and most effective way for you as a consumer to make a statement that you will be denying support to South Dakota businesses until the abortion ban is overturned. Consult your Citibank card for the phone number to call--and be sure to tell them why you are canceling! (And send a letter or e-mail to one of the South Dakota dailies to report your action and why you have taken it. See media information above.) Boycott Sturgis Motorcycle RallyThe city of Sturgis, S.D., organizes an annual biker rally, billed as the largest biker rally in North America, usually attracting about 500,000 bikers to the August event. Bikers--stay home, and be sure to contact the City of Sturgis to tell them you won't be participating until the abortion ban is overturned. Wouldn't it be great if bikers met in Minnesota this year? The City of Sturgis Contact Corporate Sponsors of Sturgis Motorcycle RallyWhether you are a biker or not, you can flex consumer power by contacting sponsors of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and asking them to rescind their corporate support of the South Dakota event. Please indicate you will be boycotting their products unless they withdraw their support: Coca-Cola Medtec Aero Systems Engineering, Inc. Budweiser Harley-Davidson Jack Daniel's The Other White Meat Ford Ultra Wheel Co. Geico Motorcycle Sony TDG Communications Other corporate sponsors include: Pierce, Ensignal/Verizon and Take It Easy, Snap-on, Midcontinent, Real Security Co. |