Abortion rights protesters at the U.S. Supreme Court. South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden will soon decide whether to sign legislation defining exceptions to his state's near-total abortion ban. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)
By: Makenzie Huber
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The South Dakota Senate passed bills addressing abortion and required education in prenatal development for K-12 students on Tuesday. The bills will now head to the governor’s desk.
House Bill 1257 would spell out that several pregnancy-related treatments are not abortions, including treatment to resolve a miscarriage, treatment or removal of an ectopic pregnancy, removal of a deceased unborn child, and medical treatment that unintentionally results in the loss of the pregnancy.
The bill is a response to what supporters call “misinformation” about what is allowed under South Dakota’s abortion ban. South Dakota lawmakers adopted a trigger ban in 2005 that took effect in 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Abortions are prohibited “unless there is appropriate and reasonable medical judgment that performance of an abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
Some abortion rights advocates have since said the wording of the exception could discourage doctors from administering necessary care for pregnancy complications.
In 2024, the South Dakota Legislature passed, and former Gov. Kristi Noem signed, a law to require the state Department of Health to create a video clarifying the state’s abortion ban exception and how it should be applied. That video did little to quell concerns from abortion rights advocates, who described it as ambiguous and not legally binding.
Sen. Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, called HB 1257 a “clarity bill.”
“Let’s end some of this misinformation so South Dakota women know that they can be provided for and cared for in case of a miscarriage,” Grove said.
No other lawmakers spoke in support or against the legislation on the Senate floor. Opponents earlier in the legislative session included the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, South Dakota chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the South Dakota State Medical Association. The bill passed with a 31-2 vote.
The other bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday was House Bill 1313, which would require the state’s public schools to show students “age-appropriate and research-based” videos about prenatal development. The bill passed in a 31-3 vote.
The videos must be at least three minutes long and cannot include information from groups that perform or promote abortion, or are affiliated with a group that does so. Opposition to the bill earlier in the legislative session included advocates from the South Dakota Education Association, School Administrators of South Dakota and the South Dakota chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
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