The South Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill on Feb. 14 that would “require the creation of an informational video and other materials describing the state’s abortion law and medical care for a pregnant woman experiencing life-threatening or health-threatening medical conditions.”
The “Med Ed Bill,” primarily sponsored by Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, is the first of its kind and intends to educate doctors and women on what the law allows when it comes to abortion for life-threatening pregnancies. It seeks to clarify South Dakota law, as abortion activists often claim that abortion bans will cause the deaths of women who need to abort in order to survive.
The video and other unspecified materials would have to describe: “(1) The state’s abortion law and acts that do and do not constitute an abortion; (2) The most common medical conditions that threaten the life or health of a pregnant woman; (3) The generally accepted standards of care applicable to the treatment of a pregnant woman experiencing life-threatening or health-threatening medical conditions; and (4) The criteria that a practitioner, exercising reasonable medical judgment, might use in determining the best course of treatment for a pregnant woman experiencing life-threatening or health-threatening medical conditions and for her unborn child.”
The bill would require consultation with the attorney general as well as medical and legal experts. The materials would have to be available on the Health Department’s website.
The Med Ed Bill comes after a 2023 Texas lawsuit in which several women sued the state when their abortions were denied or delayed in cases where the pregnancy was threatening their lives, or where doctors determined the child was not viable. They requested the law be clarified, because although Texas’s abortion ban includes exceptions for when the mother’s life is in danger, doctors would not perform the procedure for fear of prosecution.
“South Dakota is showing the rest of the nation how to protect women’s lives by making it abundantly clear that pregnant women can and must receive timely emergency care under our pro-life law,” said Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “Abortion activists have sown confusion on this point around the nation to justify their agenda for no limits on abortion. This lie not only deceives but puts women in danger, and a Med Ed policy is the solution.”
South Dakota banned abortion in June of 2022 directly after the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
If the bill passes through the South Dakota Senate and is signed by Gov. Kristi Noem, the state Department of Health will have until Sept. 1 to produce and post the educational video and materials.
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