Media Contact

Janna Farley, jfarley@aclu.org

February 22, 2022

Today, House lawmakers passed House Bill 1208, legislation that would ban medications involved in early abortion care.

The ACLU of South Dakota opposes House Bill 1208.

“Personal privacy and reproductive rights are among our most important constitutional liberties. Politicians shouldn’t be in the business of controlling our bodies or our futures,” said Jett Jonelis, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “House Bill 1208 poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of individuals seeking medication abortion care and ignores a pregnant person’s individual needs and circumstances. Banning a safe and standard method of terminating a pregnancy creates unnecessary restrictions for people accessing essential medical care.”

Medication abortion is preferred by some patients because it allows patients to have more control over their abortion and more privacy, and for some people it is not only preferred, but medically indicated. The most common method of medication abortion is a combination regimen of two oral medications: mifepristone and misoprostol. Since mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000, more than 4 million patients in the United States have relied on the mifepristone-misoprostol regimen to safely end their pregnancies.

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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