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South Dakota Republicans kill fetal heartbeat bill without debate



Republican lawmakers in South Dakota have killed a pro-life heartbeat bill supported by Gov. Kristi Noem (R), claiming that the bill could interfere with a separate ongoing lawsuit against Planned Parenthood.

During the governor's state of the state address in January, Noem proposed a fetal heartbeat bill modeled after Texas' Heartbeat Act, which prevents a woman from seeking an abortion after her unborn baby develops a heartbeat, usually sometime around six weeks. Her proposal was received with a standing ovation from the legislature, including every member of the House State Affairs Committee, which oversees "policy decisions of overriding state concern."

Abortions have dropped by 80% in South Dakota over the last decade, but there is more that we can do to protect unborn lives.\n\nWe must end abortions once a heartbeat can be detected. Any abortion after that point stops that child's heartbeat -- stops that gift from God.pic.twitter.com/EUbHMTGsRA
— Governor Kristi Noem (@Governor Kristi Noem) 1642086505

However, on Wednesday the Republican-controlled House State Affairs committee refused to give the heartbeat bill a hearing, preventing it from being considered at all for the rest of the year.

The committee members, who say they are pro-life conservatives, told the Argus Leader that Noem's heartbeat bill would potentially jeopardize a pending lawsuit against Planned Parenthood in the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court. They claimed that this lawsuit has a chance to challenge the Supreme Court precedent in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions in 1973.

"I am as pro-life as can be, and because of that, I do not want to do something that will jeopardize our involvement in a court case that could abolish abortion in this country," said Republican House Speaker Spencer Gosch.

“It’s the Legislature’s job to legislate, not the governor’s,” he added. “What she had wasn’t a bill. It was language, and we said that it’s not going to be a bill, and therefore, it’s not going to be heard. End of discussion.”

Noem vehemently disagrees with the Republican leader's argument and has blasted the committee's decision to refuse to even give her heartbeat proposal a hearing.

“Every single life is precious and deserving of our protection — but apparently South Dakota legislators think otherwise,” the governor said. "It grieves me that they would take this unprecedented action at this time based on the advice of one out-of-state lawyer. National pro-life leaders believe that now is the time to have this sort of protection in law to save lives."

According to Noem's office, the governor was referring to Harold Cassidy, a New Jersey-based lawyer who previously defended South Dakota's 2005 Informed Consent Abortion Statute, a law that requires abortionists to inform women that an abortion takes the life of a "whole, separate, unique, living human being."

Cassidy's website describes him as "widely recognized as the leading attorney in the nation in protecting pregnant mothers against the excesses and abuses of an abortion industry.” It also states that he works as a consultant for pro-life legislators in various states, and Noem spokesman Ian Fury said he is advising Republican legislators.

The Daily Signal reported that the lawsuit at the center of Gosch's argument is Planned Parenthood v. Noem, a case involving a South Dakota law that requires women to consult with a crisis pregnancy center before they abort their unborn children. A federal judge blocked the law from taking effect in 2011 after the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state.

When Noem attempted to enforce the law in 2021, Planned Parenthood sued again, and a federal judge in August ruled the law does "infringe on women’s right to free speech secured in the First Amendment, and it presents an undue burden on a woman’s right to access abortion," according to the Daily Caller.

Noem's office disputes the claim that advancing a heartbeat bill would jeopardize the lawsuit with Planned Parenthood.

“Last year, there were 10 abortions in South Dakota before a heartbeat can be detected, so we do not believe this legislation would ‘moot’ Planned Parenthood v. Noem,” Fury told the Daily Signal.

“The only way that it possibly could [moot the lawsuit] would be if Planned Parenthood left the state entirely — in which case we would achieve our goal of protecting every unborn life in South Dakota, since Planned Parenthood runs the only abortion mill in the state,” he argued.

At a press conference Thursday, Noem said that debate about whether her heartbeat proposal would impact the lawsuit with Planned Parenthood should have been permitted to take place in the legislature.

"This is the first time in years that the legislature has refused to give a hearing to a bill. It was introduced under the same protocols, same mechanisms as every other bill governors have brought. This bill and myself were treated very differently than in the past," Noem told reporters.

She added that it is important for every bill to get a hearing in the legislature.

"This would have been a fantastic debate just to have in committee. And we can all disagree and still defend life. We can disagree on strategy. But let's have that in an open forum. And I, as governor, want to have a transparent process," Noem said. "What happened in Speaker Gosch's committee yesterday was not transparent."

South Carolina Senate advances pro-life heartbeat bill to challenge Roe v. Wade



A pro-life bill to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected is advancing through the South Carolina Legislature, on its way to a vote on the floor of the state Senate.

The state Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted 9-8 on Wednesday in favor of advancing the bill, which would make abortions in South Carolina illegal after an unborn baby's heartbeat can be detected, generally at some time between six to eight weeks of a woman's pregnancy. The bill provides just one exception for when a doctor determines that a woman's life is in danger if an abortion is not performed.

Political observers in the state expect the bill to pass after Republicans expanded their legislative majorities in both state houses in the November election.

The Post and Courier reported that two Republicans, state Sens. Tom Davis and Sandy Senn, voted with Democrats against the bill in committee. Davis had proposed an amendment adding exceptions for rape and incest, but the committee voted the amendment down by a 7-4 vote, with Democrats abstaining because they believe the bill is unconstitutional in the first place.

"Since there's no way to cure the defects, I will not try and put lipstick on a pig in an effort to help [Republicans] sanitize a fatally flawed bill," state Sen. Marlon Kimpson (D) said.

State Sen. Richard Cash (R), one of the bill's most ardent defenders, argued that "innocent human life" should not be punished for the actions of a rapist.

"This is not in any way to minimize the violence, the trauma, the very difficult situation that the woman has been put in by the rapist," Cash said. "There are no easy answers in a situation like this."

In previous years, state Senate Democrats have successfully blocked pro-life legislation from advancing in South Carolina. But this year, after Democrats lost three seats to conservative Republican challengers who support the bill, the minority may be unable to stop the bill from passing.

"It's possible amendments are proposed," Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto (D) said Tuesday, referring to poison pill amendments that could erode Republican support for the bill. "Our position is, this bill is unconstitutional and it's a waste of time."

South Carolina pro-life groups recognize that if the bill becomes law it will likely be challenged in court. But they welcome that challenge, looking to the U.S. Supreme Court and the three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump to possibly take the case and re-examine the precedent of Roe v. Wade.

In a letter to the Medical Affairs Committee supporting the heartbeat bill's passage, South Carolina Citizens for Life encouraged lawmakers to support the bill "as a challenge to the current legal precedent that permits abortion on demand in South Carolina until the unborn child is capable of feeling pain."

"With changes to the U.S. Supreme Court, it is our sincere hope that the legislation will withstand constitutional challenge and be implemented in order to save innocent, unborn babies' lives when a heartbeat is present," the organization said.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to propose pro-life bill banning abortions of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome



South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Tuesday announced that she will ask the state legislature to pass a bill banning abortions of children diagnosed with Down syndrome while in the womb.

Noem made the announcement on Fox News, appearing with Congressman Sean Duffy (R-Wisc.), his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their daughter Valentina for an interview ahead of Noem's State of the State address before South Dakota lawmakers later today. The Duffy family will be featured guests for Noem's address, supporting the governor's effort to advance her pro-life legislation by sharing baby Valentina's story.

"I'll be talking a lot about strong families, about our economy, how well it's doing, how we can invest in our future, and also how we're going to focus on protecting life," Noem said, previewing her address.

"I'm proposing a bill to the legislature that would prevent abortions for babies based on a Down syndrome diagnosis. So a doctor would not be [permitted] to conduct an abortion on a woman because the child has been diagnosed specifically just for Down syndrome," the governor explained.

"Every single life is precious, regardless of what situation the family is facing. Every life is a blessing, and I think little Valentina right here, her little face shows what a blessing that she is to this family and they're going to be here talking to the people of South Dakota and our legislators about how important that bill is," she added.

In the United States, about 6,000 babies are born with Down syndrome each year, according to Healthline. An estimated one in 700 babies carries the genetic condition, and it is the most common chromosomal disorder in the United States. Reliable data is difficult to find, but the best guess of studies that have investigated the issue suggests that 67% of U.S. pregnancies in which doctors say the baby would be born with Down syndrome are aborted, killing the child before it is born.

In August of last year, Rep. Duffy announced he would be retiring from Congress after learning that his then-unborn baby girl Valentina has Down syndrome and a heart condition that would require surgery shortly after she was born. Duffy's wife, Rachel, praised Gov. Noem for advocating on behalf of children like Valentina, who have no voice of their own.

"Just so proud of Gov. Noem for taking on such an important issue. I don't think it's a coincidence that she's a mom and that this is coming out of a mom governor," she said.

"At this time especially, we're living in a time where so many people are being censored and I think Gov. Kristi Noem is giving a voice to a group of people who don't have a voice, who don't have a lobby, who don't have anyone to fight for them other than their moms and good leaders like Gov. Noem."

Mrs. Campos-Duffy also shared a message for women who may be struggling with uncertainty after receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis for their unborn babies.

"I would just say to any woman who has a diagnosis, who gets that call from the doctor just like I did, Valentina has given me as much joy and pride as any of my other little babies. And she's an American and she has a right to live just like everybody else."

Rep. Duffy echoed his wife's feelings.

"I would tell you it's scary, because we were scared. We didn't know what it meant or what it means. But from our vantage point, we had a lot of people who are parents of children with Down syndrome and they said it is going to be the greatest experience you will ever have. They are the most wonderful children, and that has been our experience," he said.

Noem hopes that inviting the Duffy family to South Dakota to share their story will persuade lawmakers to take action and pass her bill.

"I think what's so important about this is that stories have power, and stories are inspirational. So we can talk about facts, and I can stand up today and talk to the people of South Dakota about how great our economy's doing, how successful our businesses are because we didn't shut down in our state, how our people are happy because we let them use personal responsibility to get through the pandemic," Noem explained.

"But it's stories like this family that really drive home the point of why we focus on people, that we're in the people business. And it's not just helping them put food on the table and a roof over their heads, but it's about giving every single person the opportunity to live, to go after the American dream, and to be a part of the story of America. And that's what we're really looking for, is to inspire folks to really join together at this time — when we see so much division — to really focus on how we can love each other and love every single person."

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