Anti-abortion zealots were handed a crushing defeat last year when the voters of conservative South Dakota -- supposedly fertile ground for their brand of wingnuttery -- rejected a draconian abortion ban at the ballot box.

The conservative talking point was that voters defeated the ban because it had no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother.

A new attempt to resuscitate the ban -- but with the exceptions -- in the SD Senate suffered a humiliating defeat today.

An abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest and health of the mother was rejected Wednesday morning by legislative committee in Pierre. The Senate State Affairs Committee just voted 8 to 1 to kill HB1293 without a vote of the full Senate. Supporters of the bill can still force the bill out of committee with a one-third vote of the full Senate, but even key supporters of last year’s ban spoke against the measure. Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark, called abortion “a scourge on South Dakota,” and he called HB1293 a “noble effort.” But he also said the bill would not withstand a court challenge. “I do not believe there is any chance it will,” he said. Greenfield, who also is chairman of South Dakota Right to Life, is not on the committee, but he testified as an opponent to the new ban.

The anti-abortion movement is clearly reeling from the ballot box setback, if the chairman of the SD Right to Life operation is against it.

This could be an opening for groups from both sides of the issue to stop fighting over criminalizing abortion, and start focusing on ways to reduce demand -- poverty programs, sex ed, health care, etc.

The regional Planned Parenthood has taken a step in that direction: