Gov. Kristi Noem wants South Dakota abortion laws tightened after Texas’ 6-week ban stands
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. —Texas has the tightest abortion laws in the country. But that won’t be the case for long if Gov. Kristi Noem has her way.
Women can’t terminate a pregnancy in the state of South Dakota beyond 22 weeks of gestation. But now that the United States Supreme Court has refused to block a six-week abortion ban adopted in the Lone Star State, the South Dakota governor is pushing for tighter abortion laws at home, too.
“Following the Supreme Court’s decision to leave the anti-abortion (Texas) law in place, I have directed the Unborn Child Advocate in my office to immediately review the new (Texas) law and current South Dakota laws to make sure we have the strongest anti-abortion laws on the books in (South Dakota),” Noem said in a statement posted to social media Thursday.
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And this week, the country’s highest court opted not to consider the case, denying an emergency appeal request after a federal court in New Orleans ruled in favor of Texas in August.
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Planned Parenthood, the nation’s top reproductive health clinic and abortion provider, characterizes efforts to move to a six-week abortion bans as a “blatantly unconstitutional attack.” And the ACLU of South Dakota has vowed to push back against any restrictions proposed to weaken abortion rights protections.
“We’ve been fighting off attacks against women’s reproductive rights in South Dakota for a long time and that’s not something that’s going to stop,” said Janna Farley, a spokeswoman for the ACLU in Sioux Falls.
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