Kate Looby

Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota

Kate Looby is the South Dakota State Director for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS).

A South Dakota native, Kate earned a degree in Economics from Augustana College and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. She is a former small business owner and was her party’s candidate for Secretary of State in 2002. Hired by Planned Parenthood in early 2003, Kate has worked to develop a strong “prevention first” identity for the organization by emphasizing access to affordable contraception and reproductive healthcare for all South Dakotans and working to maintain comprehensive sexuality in the schools.

Kate has been an active member of her community and church, a volunteer in her children’s elementary school, and has served on the board of the Family Planning Advocates PAC as well as state President of SD NARAL and the SD Women’s Political Caucus.

Kate is the mother of four children and lives in Sioux Falls.

What Really Hurts Women is When They Are Lied To

Kate Looby

Kate Looby is the South Dakota State Director for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS).

Last week I had a painful experience. Casey Murschel, Executive Director for NARAL Pro-Choice SD, and I faced off at a forum against State Representative Roger Hunt, the prime sponsor of the abortion ban legislation, and Alan Unruh, the spouse of Leslee Unruh, long-time anti-abortion activist and manager of the campaign working to pass Referred Law 6, the abortion ban. The forum was held at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion; however, many people in the audience were not students but rather people from off campus sporting Vote Yes for Life (VYFL) shirts.

While it was not an actual "debate," we each gave opening remarks and then took questions from the audience for approximately forty-five minutes.

One of the unbelievable comments from the supporters of the bill was that there is a "provision" in the law for rape and incest victims because they can use EC up until the time they can get a positive pregnancy test through "conventional medical testing" - at least nine to ten days after sex. When we pointed out that EC is approved by the FDA for use up to 72 hours, Roger Hunt noted that he had drafted the bill to apply not only to current medical technology, but future technology as well. Always the forward thinker he is.

South Dakota: TV Ad Challenged As False and Misleading

Kate Looby

Kate Looby is the South Dakota State Director for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS). With this post she begins a regular series of updates she will provide Rewire about the South Dakota ballot initiative.

The voters of South Dakota are being asked to decide whether or not they support a near total ban on abortion in our state. The only exception in the ban is to save the life of the woman. Section 3 of the bill which passed through the legislature and which Governor Rounds signed last winter does allow for the use of contraception - most of us weren't aware that we needed permission from the legislature to use birth control, but the opponents of legal abortion found it necessary to mention that in the bill.