South Dakota Moves To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers

Mother Jones by Kate Sheppard | Feb. 15, 2011 (News Report)

A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus—a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon. Full Story »

Posted by Jon Mitchell - via David Corn, Peter Daou, Dave Weigel, Mother Jones, Memeorandum, Slatest, Ray Nichols (t), Ron Steffens (t), Randy Benson (t), David K. Miller (t)

See All Reviews »

View

Review

Jon Mitchell
3.5
 by Jon Mitchell - Feb. 15, 2011

I'll begin by saying that this article displays great journalistic integrity, offering corrective updates with lots of linked explanations. It also provides good context, which is very helpful in an article that requires some understanding of South Dakota state-level politics. However, I think Mother Jones is grasping at straws trying to give the story simple shock value, whereas the legal facts are much more subtle. This bill is shifting shape under scrutiny, and I think this author should do a better job of employing legal experts to demonstrate exactly what it does and does not do.

Jon posted this story.

See All Reviews »

Jon's Rating

Overall
3.5

Average
from 11 answers
Quality
3.3
Facts
3.0
Fairness
3.0
Sourcing
3.0
Style
3.0
Context
4.0
Depth
3.0
Enterprise
4.0
Relevance
3.0
Popularity
4.0
Recommendation
4.0
Credibility
4.0
More How our ratings work »