House Bill 1217 was signed into law in 2011 by then-Gov, Dennis Daugaard. It requires women to wait 72 hours between contacting an abortionist and having the procedure. It also requires women to seek counseling with crisis pregnancy centers before getting an abortion.
Planned Parenthood filed suit, however, and a federal judge has sided with the abortion giant to temporarily ban the law from going into effect. Earlier this month, the judge again sided with the abortion group when South Dakota appealed. A final ruling is now pending.
Dale Bartscher of South Dakota Right to Life says abortion supporters in his state oppose any law, of any kind, that puts limits on abortion.
“So they have difficulty with this law,” he tells American Family News, “because they don't want women to have the full disclosure on what is about to take place if they go ahead with their abortion.”
In a statement reacting to the newest court ruling, Gov. Kristi Noem said South Dakota believes mothers should have the “relevant information” about an abortion procedure before ending the life of an unborn child.
“Given that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide on the constitutionality of prohibiting abortion before 'viability,’” Noem further said, “we are asking the 8th Circuit to recognize that the people's legislators should have the ability to pass pro-life laws."
The court case Noem referred to is Dobbs v Jackson, Mississippi Women's Health Organization, which has reached the high court and could be a landmark ruling nearly 50 years after Roe v Wade.
Whether you live in South Dakota or Mississippi, or any other state, Bartscher says it's important for pro-lifers to stand together for the lives of the unborn.
"We are definitely better and stronger together," he says. "If South Dakota strengthens its already very strong pro-life stance in this state, I think it reflects well upon the other 49 states of our great nation."
