Opposition to the abortion ban has gotten Pine Ridge tribal chair Cecelia Fire Thunder impeached. Rapid City Journal reports:
The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council voted 9-5 Thursday to impeach the tribal president for proposing an abortion clinic on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Cecelia Fire Thunder survived two earlier attempts to remove her from office since she was elected in November 2004 as the tribe's first female president.
This time, the issue was over South Dakota's new abortion ban that does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
After Gov. Mike Rounds signed the bill, Fire Thunder vowed to work to open a Planned Parenthood clinic on the reservation, beyond the reach of state law.
Will Peters, a tribal council member who filed the impeachment complaint, said Fire Thunder didn't have the tribal council's approval to pursue the project.
"The bottom line is the Lakota people were adamantly opposed to abortion on our homelands. The president was involved in unauthorized political actions," he said after the vote, which came after two hours of private deliberation.For a full story, see Friday's Rapid City Journal
Recent Comments