SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — With the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, abortion is now illegal in South Dakota.
In 2005, South Dakota lawmakers passed two pieces of legislation that would make abortion illegal if the Supreme Court ever reversed Roe v. Wade. Now that that day has come, here’s what could happen next.
According to the law, abortion is now a Class 6 felony punishable by up to two years in prison and up to a $4,000 fine. The only exception to this would be cases where medical judgement deems an abortion to be necessary to save the life of the mother. There is no exception for rape or incest.
The law is specific and states that the trigger law goes into effect “…on the date that the states are recognized by the United States Supreme Court to have the authority to regulate or prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy.”
Following Friday’s decision, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she would hold a special session for lawmakers later this year.
For those seeking to terminate a pregnancy in South Dakota, today’s ruling means that they would have to leave the state to access abortion care.
In Minnesota, abortion is protected as a constitutional right following a Supreme Court ruling in 1995. Colorado and Montana also protect abortion rights through legislation and the state’s constitutions.
Iowa had a constitutional amendment that protected the right to abortion that was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court in 2018 but was reversed by the Court in a 5-2 decision on June 17, 2022.
Like South Dakota, North Dakota has a trigger law that goes into effect following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.
