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PIERRE, S.D. -South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a law Tuesday requiring women to wait three days after meeting with a doctor to have an abortion, the longest waiting period in the nation.
Abortion rights groups immediately said they plan to file a lawsuit challenging the measure, which also requires women to undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortions.
Daugaard, who gave no interviews after signing the bill, said in a written statement that he has conferred with state attorneys who will defend the law in court and a sponsor who has pledged private money to finance the state's legal costs.
I think everyone agrees with the goal of reducing abortion by encouraging consideration of other alternatives, the Republican governor said the statement. I hope that women who are considering an abortion will use this three-day period to make good choices.
Planned Parenthood, which operates South Dakota's only abortion clinic in Sioux Falls, and the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota said they will ask a judge to strike down the measure as unconstitutional.
The law is the first of its kind of the nation in requiring women to seek counseling at pregnancy help centers and in having a waiting period three times as long as in other states, said Kathi Di Nicola of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. She said it would intrude on women's right to make personal decisions about medical treatment and require women seeking abortions to receive counseling from unlicensed and unaccredited pregnancy centers that are often religiously motivated.
It's not going to do one thing to reduce unintended pregnancy or reduce abortion, Di Nicola said. We know women think carefully and consider all their options before making a decision like this.
Supporters of the measure say the Planned Parenthood clinic in Sioux Falls gives women little information or counseling before they have abortions done by doctors flown in from out of state. The bill would help make sure women are not being coerced into abortions by boyfriends or relatives, they said.
Women need to just be reminded of the fact there is a natural, legal relationship between them and their child, said Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, main sponsor of the law.
The law, which takes effect July 1, says an abortion can only be scheduled by a doctor who has personally met with a woman and determined she is voluntarily seeking an abortion. The procedure can't be done until at least 72 hours after that first consultation.
Before getting an abortion, a woman also will have to consult with a pregnancy help center to get information about services available to help her give birth and keep a child. The state will publish a list of pregnancy help centers, all of which seek to persuade women to give birth.
See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/h9fkPs
Abortion rights groups immediately said they plan to file a lawsuit challenging the measure, which also requires women to undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortions.
Daugaard, who gave no interviews after signing the bill, said in a written statement that he has conferred with state attorneys who will defend the law in court and a sponsor who has pledged private money to finance the state's legal costs.
I think everyone agrees with the goal of reducing abortion by encouraging consideration of other alternatives, the Republican governor said the statement. I hope that women who are considering an abortion will use this three-day period to make good choices.
Planned Parenthood, which operates South Dakota's only abortion clinic in Sioux Falls, and the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota said they will ask a judge to strike down the measure as unconstitutional.
The law is the first of its kind of the nation in requiring women to seek counseling at pregnancy help centers and in having a waiting period three times as long as in other states, said Kathi Di Nicola of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. She said it would intrude on women's right to make personal decisions about medical treatment and require women seeking abortions to receive counseling from unlicensed and unaccredited pregnancy centers that are often religiously motivated.
It's not going to do one thing to reduce unintended pregnancy or reduce abortion, Di Nicola said. We know women think carefully and consider all their options before making a decision like this.
Supporters of the measure say the Planned Parenthood clinic in Sioux Falls gives women little information or counseling before they have abortions done by doctors flown in from out of state. The bill would help make sure women are not being coerced into abortions by boyfriends or relatives, they said.
Women need to just be reminded of the fact there is a natural, legal relationship between them and their child, said Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, main sponsor of the law.
The law, which takes effect July 1, says an abortion can only be scheduled by a doctor who has personally met with a woman and determined she is voluntarily seeking an abortion. The procedure can't be done until at least 72 hours after that first consultation.
Before getting an abortion, a woman also will have to consult with a pregnancy help center to get information about services available to help her give birth and keep a child. The state will publish a list of pregnancy help centers, all of which seek to persuade women to give birth.
See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/h9fkPs
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