Abortion always results in the death of an innocent human being, but it can also pose significant health risks to women. Those risks include future infertility, hemorrhage, and potentially death. This rule is designed to mitigate those risks. By requiring that women take the abortion pill at an abortion facility, medical professionals will have the opportunity to correctly date her pregnancy and ensure that she does not have a pregnancy condition such as ectopic pregnancy. If her pregnancy is not correctly dated or she has an undiagnosed pregnancy condition, the health risk to the mother could be significantly increased.
“Chemical abortions are four times as likely to cause a woman getting an abortion to end up in an emergency room – and we have a duty to protect the lives of those women,” said Gov. Kristi Noem, who created the new rule. “I look forward to the day when the life of every unborn child is protected in South Dakota. Until then, South Dakotans will know that if a mother uses abortion pills to end her unborn child’s life, she will not get those pills from a stranger over the internet.”
