abortion in south dakota abortion in south dakota abortion in south dakota is illegal. anyone who induces an abortion is guilty of a class 6 felony. an exception is included to "preserve the life of the pregnant female," given appropriate and reasonable medical judgment. there were 878 legal abortions in 2000, 895 in 2001, 819 in 2003, 551 in 2014, and 444 in 2015. history legislative history by 1950, the state legislature had passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion, regardless of whether she went through with it, was guilty of a criminal offense. some states require that a person seeking an abortion must wait for a period of one to six days, depending on the state, after visiting the provider for the first time and before having the procedure. south dakota requires that the patient obtain mandatory counseling from an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center during this time frame. in 2004, a bill outlawing abortion passed both houses of the legislature, but was vetoed by the governor due to a technicality. the state's legislature subsequently passed five laws curtailing the legality of abortion in 2005. the majority of a legislative "task force" then issued a report recommending that the legislature illegalize all abortions, which would lead to a challenge of the constitutionality of roe v. wade in the united states supreme court. a separate minority report criticizing the process and reaching different conclusions was also released. the south dakota legislature passed a law in 2006 that would have banned abortion in the state. several members of the south dakota legislative majority, as well as governor rounds, acknowledged that the overt goal of this law, the women's health and human life protection act, was to get the supreme court to overturn roe. it was signed into law by republican governor mike rounds. planned parenthood successfully challenged the law using a ballot initiative instead of using the courts. the state was one of 23 states in 2007 to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement. in the informed consent materials given to women in idaho, oklahoma, south dakota and texas required by statute, the materials used graphic and inflammatory language. the law also required the woman be told how far advanced her pregnancy was. the informed consent materials in south dakota, texas, utah and west virginia given to women seeking abortions include counseling materials that say women who have abortions may have suicidal thoughts or they may experience "postabortion traumatic stress syndrome". the latter syndrome is not recognized by american psychological association or the american psychiatric association. the written informed consent materials in south dakota say "unborn child may feel physical pain" without specifying any time period during gestation. the journal of the american medical association has concluded that pain sensors do not develop in the fetus until between weeks 23 and 30. in 2008, the south dakota legislature passed another anti-abortion law, this time one that would have banned abortion in all cases except for rape, incest, and the health of the woman. planned parenthood again successfully challenged this using a ballot initiative instead of using the courts. in 2013, the targeted regulation of abortion providers (trap) state law applied to medication-induced abortions and private doctor offices in addition to abortion clinics. the state had a law on the books in august 2018 that would be triggered if roe v. wade was overturned. (the supreme court did overturn roe v. wade in dobbs v. jackson women's health organization, no. 19-1392, 597 u.s. ___ (2022) .) as of 2018, south dakota prohibits the use of state funds for abortions unless the mother's life is in danger. in mid-may 2019, state law banned abortion after week 22. on september 7, 2021, during the covid-19 pandemic, governor kristi noem signed an executive order requiring in-person medical visits—not merely telehealth appointments—for the prescription of medication abortions. ballot box history a referendum to repeal the women's health and human life protection act was placed on ballot for the november 2006 statewide election due to a successful petition drive by the organization south dakota healthy families. on may 30, over 38,000 petition signatures were filed, more than twice the 17,000 required to place a measure on the ballot. on november 7, whhlpa was repealed by the south dakota electorate; the vote was 56%-44% favoring repeal. in 2008, another referendum, by a vote of 55%-45%, repealed an anti-abortion law passed earlier in the year which would have restricted abortion to cases involving rape, incest, and the woman's health. judicial history the us supreme court's decision in 1973's roe v. wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester. however, the supreme court overturned roe v. wade in dobbs v. jackson women's health organization, no. 19-1392, 597 u.s. ___ (2022) . in planned parenthood v. rounds (2012), the united states court of appeals for the eighth circuit ruled that a south dakota law requiring doctors to give patients information about the potential suicide risk in women who have abortions was not unconstitutional. clinic history