"I just have never believed that- that having a tragedy or tragic situation happened to someone is a reason to have another tragedy occur,” Governor Kristi Noem told "Face the Nation."
On June 26, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem stood behind her state's abortion trigger law which implemented new abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. “I believe every life is precious,” Gov. Noem said in an interview with “Face the Nation.”
When asked about cases of rape or incest, Noem expressed that she does not believe one tragic event should lead to another.
“We know so much more using technology and science than we did even 10, 15 years ago about what these babies go through, the pain that they feel in the womb, and will continue to make sure that those lives are protected,” Noem said. “And I just have never believed that- that having a tragedy or tragic situation happened to someone is a reason to have another tragedy occur.”
South Dakota is one of 13 states across the country that passed so-called trigger laws on abortion, which effectively outlawed abortions upon the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision made in 1973 establishing the constitutional right to an abortion.
“The Supreme Court did its job: it fixed a wrong decision it made many years ago and returned this power back to the states, which is how the Constitution and our founders intended it,” Noem told "Face the Nation."
Put into effect in 2005, South Dakota’s trigger law banned abortions and drugs that would induce an abortion upon the Roe v. Wade overruling, “unless there is appropriate and reasonable medical judgment that performance of an abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
“South Dakota's, obviously, you know, under our past several years and have stood for life and defending life,” Noem told "Face the Nation." “And I think we'll continue to have those debates on how we can support these mothers and what it means to really make sure that we're not prosecuting mothers ever in a situation like this when it comes to abortion, that it will always be focused towards those doctors who knowingly break the law to perform abortions in our state.”
Noem said that it is not likely that South Dakota will encourage its residents to report women suspected of seeking or assisting in abortions. "We take privacy rights very important, we protect our freedom and our liberties here," she said. "We will make sure that mothers have the resources, protection, and medical care that they need, and we're being aggressive on that."
In Sep. 2021, Gov. Noem signed a bill that would ban telemedicine abortions.
In the interview, Noem repeated that South Dakota will provide resources for women who have to carry out their pregnancies, though she did not provide any specifics.
“I would prefer that we continue to make sure we go forward and that we're putting resources in front of these women and walking alongside them, getting them the health care, the care, the mental health counseling and services that they should need to make sure that we can continue to support them and build stronger families far into the future as well,” Noem said.
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