Two advocacy groups in South Dakota say a state legislative committee has passed a pair of bills that seek to ban abortion in the state.
The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee passed House Bill 1130 and House Bill 1110 this morning (Feb. 17, 2021).
Kristin Hayward is the manager of advocacy in South Dakota for the Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota Action Fund. She says HB1130 would require abortion providers to post information in their waiting areas and would also require doctors to give patients information “not supported by science about a so-called ‘abortion reversal.’” Doctors who fail to comply with the bill would be subject to disciplinary action against their license.
HB1110, which was introduced by Gov. Kristi Noem, would ban abortions based on a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome which Hayward says “judges the reason someone seeks a safe, legal abortion.” She says legislators are “again trying to limit sexual and reproductive health care.”
ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager Jett Jonelis says the bills do not ensure pregnant people are given information, resources and support to raise their children– including children with Down syndrome– with dignity. They say the bills also do not expand access to necessary prenatal care and services for women and do not fight pregnancy discrimination.
Both groups say the bills go against the recommendations of medical experts and “are another example of lawmakers politicizing reproductive health care and inappropriately intruding upon the vital patient-physician relationship.” They say roughly 70 physicians and medical students from South Dakota recently sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to vote against bills they say would hinder their ability to provide care to patients. The letter referred to House Bills 1051, 1130 and 1110.
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