The interview posted above is from SDPB's daily public affairs show, In the Moment with Lori Walsh.
In the Moment talks with the policy makers and protesters, the lobbyists and the litigators defining the abortion rights conversation in South Dakota. Dale Bartscher is executive director of South Dakota Right to Life. We spoke with him Tuesday, June 28.
The following transcript has been autogenerated:
Dale Bartscher:
Well, South Dakota Right to Life has always believed that Roe v. Wade was among the worst court decisions ever authored. It's way beyond time that the U.S. Supreme Court reverse that horrible decision. And so now that Roe was ended, South Dakota will finally be able to ensure that the life of every unborn child in our state is protected. So South Dakota Right to Life, we enthusiastically applaud this decision. We will continue helping women navigate pregnancies that they did not plan for, as we remind South Dakotans that the pro-life movement cares about women and their unborn children. So we have been waiting for this decision for a long time. If I had confetti, I would've been tossing it high. So we're celebrating a day that we've long dreamed of, advocated for, and worked toward, the overturning of Roe v. Wade. This is a great day for pre-born children and their mothers.
Lori Walsh:
We saw some of that confetti as people celebrated in the streets. We also saw protests and tears and weeping. An NPR PBS Marist poll said 56% of Americans oppose this decision. So I want to ask you, there's no consensus on this from voters. What were some of the political ways this led up to the decision we saw released in the Dobbs case?
Dale Bartscher:
Well, I think the Supreme Court has correctly decided that a right to abortion is not in the Constitution, thereby allowing the people, through their elected representatives, to have a voice in this very important decision. Almost 50 years have passed since Roe made abortion the law of the land, and since then, 63 million plus babies have lost their lives, and their mothers' lives have never been the same, all in the name of choice. That's why South Dakota Right to Life is working so hard right now to rescue and save innocent pre-born babies, as well as their mothers and fathers from a life of regret.
Lori Walsh:
Let's talk about what needs to be done next. Are you a political advocacy group as well as doing the work with individual families and pregnant women, or do you do both? Because I want to ask you about politics and what might come out of the legislative special session first.
Dale Bartscher:
Sure, South Dakota Right to Life's mission is very clear. We hope to do two things with a sense and flare of excellence. We want to educate on the sanctity of human life, and we want to legislate on the sanctity of human life. So during the South Dakota legislative session July through March of every year, South Dakota Right to Life has boots on the ground at the state capital. I serve as a lobbyist, an ambassador for the sanctity of human life. An entirely new pro-life movement has just begun in the state of South Dakota and across the nation, and South Dakota Right to Life stands ready to serve women and families.
Lori Walsh:
Okay, I think you said June through March, so January through March legislative session, boots on the ground. Do I understand that correctly?
Dale Bartscher:
Yes, I corrected myself, January through March.
Lori Walsh:
Got it. All right, so what are some of the legislative solutions that you think lawmakers should consider next?
Dale Bartscher:
Well, it really is a mission of justice and mercy. We'll never stop expanding our pro-life safety net that today nearly includes some 3000 pregnancy centers nationwide, and initiatives like our governor Kristi Noem's, website at life.sd.gov, as well as a growing number of state alternatives to abortion programs in order to love and to serve both the mother and the child. So life.sd.gov is a great step forward. This website, sponsored by our governor, simply states its purpose of helping mothers and their babies before birth and after. So currently that website has four categories to help pregnancy: parenting, financial assistance, and adoption. Our governor has said and made it very clear. She said, "To be very clear, we're launching life.sd.gov to give women the resources they need to navigate their pregnancy, birth, parenting, and adoption if they choose." So South Dakota Right to Life, we appreciate our partners more than ever as the need is great only become more critical. We think that the legal battles will now escalate, so now it's incredibly important that our movement stays prayerfully and financially ready for the challenges ahead.
Lori Walsh:
Dale, would you support, would South Dakota Right to Life support, some kind of out-of-state travel ban, similar to what we're seeing in Missouri, that says citizens can sue other people for assisting a South Dakota resident (I'm speaking hypothetically, of course) from going to another state to receive abortion services? Would you support some kind of out-of-state travel restrictions?
Dale Bartscher:
South Dakota Right to Life passed our trigger law back in 2005, and our trigger law is a good law. It simply states that all elective or induced abortions in South Dakota will be banned except to save the life of the mother or when a pregnant mother's life is in jeopardy. And then it has a penalty, of course, for the abortionist that performs an abortion after the Supreme Court sends Roe v. Wade back to the states. We support that, and I do know, as you know, the governor will be calling for a special session of the legislators to come back to Pierre, and we're waiting to see what's on her plate, what she's thinking, as it pertains to the trigger law, strengthening of the trigger law, and so we'll wait and see. So I would simply say to the listening audience, stay tuned. Some significant things are about to happen.
Lori Walsh:
Would you support legislation that looks at (regulating or banning) emergency contraception, such as the Plan B pill, or addresses contraception, like IUDs?
Dale Bartscher:
Once again, South Dakota Right to Life, we're going to stand with our pro-life governor and pro-life lieutenant governor and the majority, the vast majority, of our Senate and House who stand pro-life strong. And so we'll see what legislation may come either during the special session, as it pertains to the trigger law, or in January during the general session of the House and the Senate.
Lori Walsh:
All right, so not really ready to say one way or the other, yes or no? Just waiting to see how the process plays out. That's what I'm hearing you say there. Do I understand you correctly?
Dale Bartscher:
Yes, I'm waiting for the process to make its way through the system.
Lori Walsh:
Let's go back to what you said when you mentioned crisis centers in the state of South Dakota. I know you mentioned nationwide how many there are. Do you believe that the infrastructure is in place? And I know that the governor has added the life.sd.gov website, which really gathers together a lot of state resources, for example, and provides an internet portal. Well, do we... Oh, go ahead.
Dale Bartscher:
Yeah, South Dakota Right to Life this year is commemorating 51 years of existence in the state of South Dakota. National Right to Life was formed some 54 years ago. So for 51 years, we have had in place resources to help pregnant mothers who are walking through an unplanned pregnancy make the right choice, the choice of life for the infant in their womb, and so, we'll continue to do so. Currently in South Dakota, we have six pregnancy resource care centers across the state. There is Alpha Center in Sioux Falls, Option One in Brookings, Plus One in Huron. We have Zoe Care in Yankton. We have Black Hills Pregnancy Center in Rapid City, and Bella Resource Pregnancy Center in Spearfish. We're grateful for those six. We have an additional three Birthright centers here in this state, so we're thankful for these entities. We'll continue to support them going forward, and we'll continue to plant additional pregnancy resource centers to help our South Dakota mothers and fathers who are walking through an unplanned pregnancy.
Lori Walsh:
So Dale, the staff at those centers are operating under a different landscape, and people are wondering about whether they are beholden to the same HIPAA regulations as like a regular medical clinic would be. Are the pregnancy tests private? Do those staff members have a legal or moral responsibility to report a pregnancy then, if somebody leaves the state for abortion services? Help us understand how privacy works in those current pregnancy crisis centers.
Dale Bartscher:
Well, certainly the pregnancy care centers fall under the HIPAA regulations, the privacy regulations. That will only but continue. I have a total confidence in our six pregnancy resource centers to follow the law to a T. I have never been disappointed in that. They show incredible integrity in how they handle their situations in the privacy sector, and so I have no reason to believe going forward that that's going to change.
Lori Walsh:
So if someone comes in and gets a free pregnancy test, that is a private test?
Dale Bartscher:
Certainly, that would fall under HIPAA.
Lori Walsh:
Okay, I want to ask you, too, again with what's happening in the future. Abortion rights advocates have argued that the 14th Amendment's equal protection language is going to apply to reproductive health services. What's your response about different ways that abortion rights advocates will try to restore the federal protections for access to abortion?
Dale Bartscher:
Well, currently we're celebrating the decision out of the Supreme Court from last Friday, and that's where we're at, not looking too far down the line. And I'm simply saying that today, we're seeing this decision by the Supreme Court as an epic decision for our nation. And finally, after almost 50 years of supporting the sanctity of human life, we finally have a court that had the moral clarity and the courage in the midst of immense intimidation to make the right choice, a choice for life. So we'll stand with that decision for right now.
