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State of South Dakota
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EIGHTY-SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY,
2007
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817N0687
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HOUSE BILL
NO.
1293
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Introduced by:
Representatives DeVries, Gilson, Glenski, Heineman, Howie, Hunt, Jerke,
Koistinen, Miles, Nelson, Noem, Novstrup (Al), Novstrup (David), Olson
(Betty), Steele, Van Etten, Weems, and Wick and Senators Apa, Kloucek,
Maher, Napoli, Peterson (Jim), Schmidt (Dennis), and Smidt (Orville)
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FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to
regulate the performance of certain abortions, to reinstate
the prohibition against certain acts causing the termination of the life of an unborn human
being, and to prescribe a penalty therefor.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section
1.
The Legislature finds:
(1) That a pregnant mother possesses certain inherent rights, that these are natural
intrinsic rights which enjoy affirmative protection under the Constitution of the
United States, and under the Constitution and laws of the State of South Dakota, and
that among these rights are the fundamental right of the pregnant mother to her
relationship with her child, her fundamental right to make decisions that advance the
well-being and welfare of her child, and her interest in her own health;
(2) That the pregnant mother's relationship with her child is inherently beneficial to the
mother; that a mother's unique relationship with her child during pregnancy is one of
the most intimate and important relationships, and one most worthy of legal
protection; that the history and tradition of our nation has recognized this relationship
as one that has intrinsic beauty and benefit to both the mother and the child; and that
this relationship is recognized as one of the touchstones, and at the core, of all
civilized society;
(3) That all induced abortions, whether surgically or chemically induced, terminate the
life of an entire, unique, living human being, a human being separate from his or her
mother, as a matter of scientific and biological fact, and terminate that pregnant
mother's existing natural relationship with her child;
(4) That a physician performing an abortion terminates the life of one of the physician's
patients to whom the physician owes a professional and legal duty, which duty is
extinguished, under existing law, by the exercise of a written consent to an abortion
by the pregnant mother of the unborn child;
(5) That a large percentage of the decisions made by pregnant mothers to give up their
rights and interests in their relationship with their children by submitting to an
abortion, are not truly informed and voluntary; that there are inherently coercive
aspects to the abortion procedure; and that often the uninformed and difficult nature
of the decision is seriously compounded by the practices of abortion providers;
(6) That an abortion is an unworkable method for a pregnant mother to give up,
surrender, or waive her fundamental right to her relationship with her child;
(7) That in the majority of cases there is no normal or traditional physician-patient
relationship or counseling between a pregnant mother contemplating submitting to
an abortion and the physician who performs the abortion;
(8) That submitting to an abortion subjects the pregnant woman to significant health
risks; that the abortion procedure is inherently dangerous to the psychological and
physical health of the woman; that an abortion places most women at greater risk for
psychological distress, depression, suicidal ideation and suicide than carrying her
child to full term and giving birth;
(9) That the State of South Dakota possesses a duty to protect, and it is a legitimate
exercise of the State's power to protect, the natural intrinsic rights and interests of a
pregnant mother in her relationship with her child; in her ability to protect the well-
being of her child; and her own health;
(10) That the State of South Dakota possesses a duty to protect, and it is a legitimate
exercise of the State's power to protect, the life of each human being within its
borders, including those human beings living in utero;
(11) That it is neither practical nor possible for the State to simultaneously protect these
fundamental rights and interests of pregnant mothers and the lives of their children,
and, at the same time, provide legal authority or protection for the act of a physician
who terminates the lives of these mothers' unborn children by an abortion; that
protection of these rights of the mothers are in conflict with protection of the act of
the physician which terminates these rights by terminating the life of the unborn
child;
(12) That the right and duty of the State to protect and preserve the life of the unborn child
cannot co-exist with a law that authorizes the termination of that life by the
physician;
(13) That it is now clear that the State of South Dakota can either protect the mother's
fundamental natural intrinsic rights, or protect the physician's act that terminates and
adversely affects them, but that the State cannot effectively protect both; and that the
State's duty is to protect the natural and intrinsic rights of the pregnant mother and
the life of her unborn child, and must, therefore, prohibit physicians from terminating
these rights and interests by the performance of abortions, to the fullest reasonable
extent federal law shall permit, consistent with the provisions of this Act.
Section
2.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Any person who knowingly performs any procedure upon a pregnant mother, or who uses
any instrument upon a pregnant mother, or who administers any medicine or drug or substance
or device to a pregnant mother, or who prescribes or procures or sells any medicine or drug or
substance or device for use by a pregnant mother, with the intent of causing or abetting the
termination of the life of an unborn human being, is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
This section shall not apply if a licensed physician is performing a surgical or medical
abortion for one of the following reasons:
(1) The physician has made an appropriate and reasonable medical judgment, the bases
of which shall be specifically identified and documented in the pregnant mother's
medical records, that the abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother;
(2) The physician has made an appropriate and reasonable medical judgment, the bases
of which shall be specifically identified and documented in the pregnant mother's
medical records, that the abortion is necessary in order to prevent a devastating and
irreversible injury to the mother's health, which is likely to cause a very significant
impairment of the functioning of a major bodily organ or system, and which is likely
to cause a very significant impairment of the quality of the mother's life. However,
the physician may only proceed with the abortion if a second physician, not
associated in practice with the first, also makes the same judgment in writing after
examining the pregnant mother and reviewing all appropriate medical records and
tests;
(3) The physician has determined that the pregnancy is the result of a rape, as that term
is defined in
§
22-22-1, in which cases, the following conditions apply:
(a) The abortion cannot be performed later than seventeen weeks following the
date of the mother's last menstrual period, as confirmed by a sonogram and
other conventional methods;
(b) Before performing the procedure the physician shall confirm by personally
obtaining a copy of the record of the report from the entity to which the report
was made that the pregnant mother had reported the rape within fifty days of
the event to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, and, if the rape
allegation is made pursuant to subdivision 22-22-1(5), shall confirm that the
report contains the name and last known address of the alleged perpetrator,
and, in all other instances, shall confirm that the report contains either the
name and last known address of the alleged perpetrator or, if the identity of the
perpetrator is unknown, contains a description of the alleged perpetrator to the
best of the mother's ability;
(c) Before performing the procedure the physician shall obtain the consent of the
mother to have a blood sample drawn or other biological sample collected
from both herself and from the remains of the child, so that these can be
provided by the physician to the appropriate law enforcement authorities so
that DNA testing may be performed;
(d) The physician shall draw the blood samples or collect the other biological
samples, and shall then secure and clearly label the samples, and shall take
such steps as are appropriate and necessary to preserve the samples, until
transfer to the law enforcement authorities;
(e) The physician shall contact the law enforcement authorities by telephone, shall
advise the law enforcement authorities that the physician has obtained samples
pursuant to this section, and shall arrange with the law enforcement authorities
to transfer custody of the samples to the authorities within twenty-four hours
after the procedure is performed;
(f) The physician shall document all the actions taken pursuant to this subdivision
and shall maintain copies of all the documents and consents as part of the
mother's permanent medical records;
(4) The physician has determined that the pregnancy is the result of an incest, as that
term is defined in
§
22-22A-1, in which cases, the following conditions apply:
(a) The abortion cannot be performed later than seventeen weeks following the
date of the mother's last menstrual period, as confirmed by a sonogram and
other conventional methods;
(b) Before performing the procedure the physician shall obtain the consent of the
mother to report the incest together with the name and last known address of
the alleged perpetrator to the appropriate law enforcement authorities;
(c) Before performing the procedure the physician shall contact the appropriate
law enforcement authorities by telephone, shall advise the law enforcement
authorities that the physician is making a report of incest, pursuant to this
section, and shall provide the name and address of the pregnant mother
together with the name and last known address of the alleged perpetrator, as
provided by the mother;
(d) Before performing the procedure the physician shall provide the mother with
the location of the office of the Department of Social Services nearest to the
mother's residence and nearest to the location of the facility where the
procedure is to be performed, and shall inform the mother that the department
will upon request provide counseling and other supportive services to the
mother;
(e) Before performing the procedure the physician shall obtain the consent of the
mother to have a blood sample drawn or other biological sample collected
from both herself and from the remains of the child, so that these can be
provided by the physician to the appropriate law enforcement authorities so
that DNA testing may be performed;
(f) The physician shall draw the blood samples or collect the other biological
samples, shall secure and clearly label the samples, and shall take such steps
as are appropriate and necessary to preserve the samples, until transfer to the
law enforcement authorities;
(g) The physician shall contact the law enforcement authorities by telephone, shall
advise the law enforcement authorities that the physician has obtained samples
pursuant to this section, and shall arrange with the law enforcement authorities
to transfer custody of the samples to the authorities within twenty-four hours
after the procedure is performed;
(h) The physician shall document all the actions taken pursuant to this subdivision
and shall maintain copies of all the documents and consents as part of the
mother's permanent medical records.
Section
3.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Nothing in section 2 of this Act prohibits the prescription or sale or use or administration
of a contraceptive medicine or drug or substance or device, if prescribed or sold or used or
administered prior to the time when it could be determined that the woman is pregnant through
conventional medical testing, and if the contraceptive measure is prescribed or sold in
accordance with manufacturer instructions.
Nothing in section 2 of this Act prohibits any person from assisting a pregnant mother in
obtaining an abortion in any other state where such a procedure is legal.
Section
4.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Whenever a physician is performing an abortion permitted by the provisions of section 2 of
this Act, the physician shall make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to
preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child in a manner consistent with
conventional medical practice.
Section
5.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Medical treatment provided to the mother by a licensed physician which results in the
accidental or unintentional injury or death of the unborn child is not a violation of this Act.
Nothing in this Act subjects the pregnant mother upon whom any abortion is performed or
attempted to any criminal conviction and penalty.
Section
6.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Terms used in this Act mean:
(1) "Abortion," the use of any procedure or instrument or medicine or drug or substance
or other means to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be
pregnant, with knowledge that the termination with reasonable likelihood will cause
the death of the unborn child;
(2) "Pregnant," the human female reproductive condition of having a living unborn child
within the mother's body, throughout the entire embryonic and fetal ages of the
unborn child from fertilization to full gestation and child birth;
(3) "Unborn human being" and "unborn child," an individual living member of the
species homo sapiens throughout the entire embryonic and fetal ages from
fertilization to full gestation and childbirth.
Section
7.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Chapters 187 and 188 of the 2005 Session Laws shall take effect pursuant to section 7 of
chapter 187, as amended by section 1 of chapter 188, only in the event that the provisions of
section 2 of this Act are declared unconstitutional or their enforcement is restrained.
Section
8.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Nothing in the provisions of chapters 22-17 and 34-23A permit any action that is prohibited
by this Act. To the extent that any provision of chapters 22-17 and 34-23A might be so
construed, the provisions of this Act take precedence.
Section
9.
That chapter
22-17
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Nothing in this Act authorizes a physician to perform an abortion unless the physician
complies with all other applicable provisions of law, including the applicable provisions of
chapter 34-23A.
Section
10.
That chapter
34-23A
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read
as follows:
Any physician who performs an abortion pursuant to section 2 shall submit a written
statement to the Department of Health setting forth the following information as it relates to
each and every abortion performed by the physician:
(1) The subdivision of section 2 of this Act pursuant to which the abortion was
performed;
(2) All of the facts and circumstances upon which the physician relied in complying with
all of the requirements and conditions of that subdivision.
The written statement shall be submitted to the Department of Health at the end of each
quarter of the year in which any abortion was performed by the physician. No statement made
pursuant to this section may include the name of any pregnant mother having an abortion.
Section
11.
That chapter
22-22
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as
follows:
Any law enforcement authority receiving a report of a rape shall, upon written request of the
victim, provide the victim or her designee with a copy of the record of the report.
Section
12.
That chapter
22-22A
be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read
as follows:
Any law enforcement authority receiving a report of incest shall, upon written request of the
victim, provide the victim or her designee with a copy of the record of the report.
Section
13.
Nothing in this Act repeals, by implication or otherwise, any provision not
explicitly repealed.
Section
14.
If any provision of this Act is found to be unconstitutional or its enforcement
temporarily or permanently restrained or enjoined by judicial order, the provision is severable;
and the other provisions of this Act remain effective, except as provided in other sections of this
Act.
Section
15.
This Act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Women's Health and Human
Life Protection Act.