A bill claiming to simply clarify the “medical emergency” exception to South Dakota’s near-total abortion ban actually has wide-ranging consequences that go far beyond abortion care.
By using specific language to define an “unborn child” as an individual organism from fertilization until live birth, House Bill 1257 could create a legal domino effect that triggers broader restrictions on hormonal contraception, emergency contraception and in vitro fertilization.
The ACLU of South Dakota opposes House Bill 1257.
“‘Medical emergency” exceptions to abortion laws are often narrow, vague and insufficient to protect pregnant people in life-threatening situations. House Bill 1257 is no different,” said Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “But by codifying language into state law that dictates that a fertilized embryo from the moment of conception is a person with full legal rights, House Bill 1257 throws into question the future of hormonal birth control and IVF treatments. This effort is about controlling women and returning us all back to a time when women could not make decisions about their bodies, futures and destinies.”
Additionally, legislative policy must remain neutral toward competing religious perspectives on life’s origin to ensure that pregnancy does not result in the forfeiture of equal protection under the law.
“There is a difference between personal beliefs about when life begins and laws that should apply to all of us,” Chapman said. “The call to clarify the exception to South Dakota’s extreme abortion ban just proves that one-size-fits-all laws don’t work. In order for our laws to address all the possible circumstances that someone who is pregnant might face, we need to repeal the total abortion ban and make access to medical care the rule, not the exception.”
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About the ACLU of South Dakota
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of South Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes North Dakota and Wyoming. The team in South Dakota is supported by staff in those states.
The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people. In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of South Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of South Dakota.
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