FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2023
Contact: Kelsey Pritchard, [email protected]
South Dakota Protects Unborn Children & Mothers Throughout Pregnancy
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley took a stand for women and the unborn this week by issuing a reminder to pharmacists that it is illegal to distribute chemical abortion drugs in South Dakota. The letter comes in response to a dangerous FDA decision to eliminate in-person distribution of mifepristone and allow for the chemical abortion drug regimen to be distributed by mail and at pharmacies, without in-person medical screening.
South Dakota law protects unborn children and their mothers from abortion throughout pregnancy, except to save the life of the mother. Noem proposed permanent state-level safeguards against distributing abortion drugs via telemedicine, and in March 2022, signed them into law after they passed by overwhelming margins in the legislature.
In their letter to South Dakota pharmacists, Noem and Jackley state:
“This side-stepping on the part of the FDA permits dangerous, at-home abortions without any medical oversight . . . [Pharmacies’] resources should be focused on helping mothers and their babies, both before birth and after. All abortions, whether surgically or chemically induced, terminate the life of a living human being. South Dakota will continue to enforce all laws including those that respect and protect the lives of the unborn. We trust pharmacists doing business in this state will take the same approach to respecting life.”
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser praised Noem and Jackley for fighting the FDA decision:
“The Biden-Harris administration’s radical pro-abortion agenda endangers the health and safety of women as well as the lives of their unborn children. Chemical abortion drugs send women to the emergency room with complications at rates that shockingly exceed even surgical abortion. Governor Noem has recognized and fought this serious public health threat for years. We thank her and Attorney General Jackley for standing up to Washington Democrats’ brazen overreach and for all our local allies working to make South Dakota a state that protects babies and supports mothers. Their courageous leadership is saving lives.”
Multiple peer-reviewed studies confirm that women are at risk of severe side effects after taking chemical abortion pills, including hemorrhaging, the need for follow-up surgery, and even death. Studies have found that chemical abortion has four times the complication rate of surgical abortion, and these risks only increase with advanced pregnancy and lack of medical supervision. Peer-reviewed research from Charlotte Lozier Institute has also found that after a chemical abortion there is a 53% greater risk for an ER visit for abortion complications than after a surgical abortion.
For more information on the dangers of chemical abortion, visit abortiondrugfacts.com.
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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