Pierre, S.D. (Jul 12, 2022) – Governor Noem has recently started to walk back a call for a special legislative session after her statement last month that there was “more work to do” to “save unborn lives in South Dakota.” 

Now the South Dakota Freedom Caucus is calling on Governor Noem to keep her word to call the special legislative session, noting that numerous covert abortions are performed every year in South Dakota under the auspices of another medical treatment or procedure that can cause the abortion of an unborn child.

The SD Freedom Caucus pointed to dilation and curettage, or commonly referred to as a D & C, procedures that are done to remove abnormal cells in the uterine lining, noting that this was a common practice to perform covert abortions before 1973, when the Roe v. Wade decision made abortions legal.

“The recent Dobbs opinion was great,” said Freedom Caucus Chairman Representative Aaron Aylward, “because in South Dakota, it enacted an excellent pro-life trigger law, but now we need to close the loopholes.” Aylward noted that currently D & C procedures can be performed without any requirement for a preoperative pregnancy screening, allowing the procedure to be done without classifying it as an abortive procedure.

The South Dakota Freedom Caucus said in their release today that they have legislation ready to close these gaps and expand the legal protection of unborn children in South Dakota.

Vice-Chairman Representative Tony Randolph explained that additional legislation may be required in response to President Joe Biden’s recent Abortion Access Executive Order signed last week, stating “Governor Noem was right when she said that there is more work to do, and we look forward to working with her in this fight for the lives of our unborn citizens.”

No date for an emergency session has been set by Governor Kristi Noem.

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