Governor Kristi Noem is introducing a bill that bans?abortions?on fetuses with Down Syndrome.?
Critics of the legislation say it?adds another ‘undue burden’?for?pregnant women in South Dakota.??
The bill prevents doctors from performing an abortion?if a?woman?wants the procedure?because the fetus has Down Syndrome.?
Governor?Noem?made the?announcement during her State of the State address.?
A doctor?could?be?found?guilty of a class 6 felony?for?performing?the operation.?
“This bill would prevent doctors from knowingly performing abortions because of a diagnosis with Down Syndrome,”?Noem?says. “So, specifically, if that diagnosis is given and the doctor knowingly performs that abortion because of that diagnosis it would have a punishment for them.”?
South Dakota’s?only?abortion clinic?provides?the procedure?up to 13 weeks and 6 days?into a pregnancy.?However,?tests?for fetal anomalies such as?Down Syndrome?typically don’t happen until?after the?15th?week of pregnancy.??
The state does not track abortions on fetuses with Down Syndrome.?According to Department of Health statistics,?in 2019 seven abortions were performed with the?“presence of fetal abnormality.”?
Kristin Hayward?works?for Planned Parenthood in Minnesota and the Dakotas.?
She says?a decision about?abortion should be between?a?pregnant?woman,?her?faith leader, doctor and?family.?
Hayward says the bill is?designed to create?headlines for Governor?Noem, who is?considering?a?2024 presidential?campaign.??
“There should be no exploitation of the disabled community to push a longstanding agenda that Kristi?Noem?has, or the legislature in South Dakota has,” Hayward says. “That’s what this whole thing is about, is pushing that agenda forward and moving toward increased visibility for her.”?
Hayward says?Governor?Noem’s bill does?not?invest in?the lives of?South Dakotans with disabilities. Instead,?it?creates another restriction?for?pregnant?women?in the?state.
