For Immediate Release: February 12, 2024
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States Should Look to SD in Dispelling Abortion Industry Misinformation
Pierre, S.D. – A bill that would provide clarity to doctors on the state’s ‘life of the mother’ provision cleared its first hurdle today with a bipartisan 11-1 vote in the House State Affairs Committee. Sponsored by Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt (R), Rep. Joh Hansen (R), and Rep. Oren Lesmeister (D), HB 1224 creates a training video and materials to educate doctors and hospitals throughout the state on the ability and necessity of providing emergency care to pregnant women under South Dakota’s life at conception law.
The materials will be established through the Department of Health and with input from the attorney general, medical professionals and legal experts. The video will cover the details of the state’s abortion law, the most common medical conditions that threaten the life or health of a pregnant woman, the standards of care for treating a pregnant woman in a medical emergency, and a practitioner’s ability to use reasonable medical judgment in all situations.
Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director for SBA Pro-Life America, thanked Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt for bringing the legislation:
“Abortion activists have spread the dangerous lie that pregnant women in states with pro-life laws cannot receive emergency care. This patently false allegation that is used to justify the abortion industry’s agenda for no limits on abortion is putting women’s lives in danger. As a South Dakota mom, I thank Rep. Rehfeldt and the cosponsors of this bill for making the truth that pregnant women can and should receive timely care abundantly clear for doctors and people across this state. The South Dakota Med Ed Bill is a model for how states around the country should protect the health of moms.”
The South Dakota Med Ed Bill is the first legislation of its kind drafted to end the confusion caused by the abortion industry through direct education to medical professionals. Other states have taken similar steps administratively: The Louisiana Health Department put out guidance on their life of the mother provision and Oklahoma and Kentucky attorneys general issued advisory opinions.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a network of more than one million pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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