PIERRE, South Dakota, February 2, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A bill proposing to make abortions illegal, with the exception of serious health risks to the mother, was put forward Monday in the South Dakota legislature.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Frank Kloucek, is meant to correct the deficiencies seen in a similar bill introduced last year which was vetoed by Governor Mike Rounds on technical grounds. Rounds said the former bill would open the doors to unrestricted abortion access in the event of a court challenge.
“It should be in the proper form that he and every pro-life family legislator can both support and sign,” said Kloucek of the new bill, SB198, as reported by the AP. Several other related bills were also introduced Monday. Rep. Roger Hunt sponsored a bill that would set up a task force to study the effects of abortion.
“In the 32 years since Roe v. Wade was decided, there’s been a whole body of scientific knowledge developed,” Hunt said. “It would be profitable and very worthwhile to learn and study that, so as the issue of abortion comes before the Legislature in the future, we’ll have good information upon which to make decisions.”
In addition, Hunt also sponsored a bill mandating that doctors fully disclose to women all the negative repercussions abortion may have, including that abortion kills their child. Sen. Brock Greenfield introduced a bill requiring notification of parents in the event that abortions were to be committed on their children.
“This seeks to clear up a loophole,” Greenfield said. If the US Supreme Court declares abortions illegal, a final bill sponsored by National Right to Life Committee member Sen. Jay Duenwald, would ban all abortions in the state, mandating a maximum penalty of life in prison for anyone committing abortions.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
South Dakota Abortion Ban Dead: Technical Veto Rejected by Senate
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