Greetings from South Dakota!

Contributed by Suzanne Grossman
[Ed. note: this post was adapted from an email]
I’m here with the theater production Words of Choice on a tour around the state to help support and spur dialogue regarding the extreme abortion law that is up for a state-wide vote next Tuesday. We have done two shows so far in Sioux Falls that have gone extremely well and are heading to another college today in Brookings, SD.
I wanted to tell you some first-hand accounts of things here because I think that we all can do a lot to show our support. I’ve met a number of activists who are working hard to get out the “vote no on 6″ message but it’s difficult. They face a lot of opposition and are feeling at this point that the vote is completely up in the air and that they are out-numbered. The anti-choice side has signs all over town and the state. The pro-choice side delayed getting the lawn signs and fear that people will be too afraid to put them out. But they are working hard to make calls from their office which we went to visit. They are a diverse group, many young people and all working really hard. They are cleary anxious, though.
The office has a “wall of support” where they paste up letters cheering them on. I asked a few of them what people around the country could do. A contact at the Planned Parenthood in Sioux Falls said that, at this late date, donations could go straight to the Campaign for Healthy Families because they are the ones doing the real “get out the vote” grassroots work. Funds will help keep their ads on the air among other efforts. (They even could use actual volunteers flying in from out of state, and welcome this.)
So….if you have a moment, please send a donation or send a letter or postcard cheering them on–it will go on their wall for the volunteers to see that even though it may seem like they are in the minority, in fact, the rest of the country is rooting for them.
Please forward this to your pro-choice friends. For more information, email here.