In 2004, both houses of the South Dakota legislature passed House Bill 1191, outlawing abortions, but it was vetoed by governor Mike Rounds due to a technicality. The state's legislature subsequently passed five laws curtailing the legality of abortion in 2005.[1] The majority of a legislative "task force"[2] 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.[3]
In February 2006, the Legislature passed the Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act, which was signed into law by Governor Mike Rounds on March 6, 2006.[4] This law would have forbidden pregnancy termination under virtually every circumstance, including for victims of rape and incest, with the exception of "a medical procedure designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant mother". Physicians performing such procedures would have been required to "... make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child". If these efforts could not be proven physicians could be subject to a fine of $5000 for doing an abortion for any other reason other than to save a women's life.[5]
The act had specifically defined pregnancy as beginning at the point of conception, rather than at implantation into the uterine wall (see beginning of pregnancy controversy), which might have meant that WHHLPA applied to emergency contraception, and on its face possibly all forms of hormonal contraception. The text of the bill read: "Nothing in section 2 of this Act may be construed to prohibit the sale, use, prescription, or administration of a contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical, if it is administered prior to the time when a pregnancy could be determined through conventional medical testing and if the contraceptive measure is sold, used, prescribed, or administered in accordance with manufacturer instructions."[2]
Several members of the South Dakota legislative majority, as well as Governor Rounds, acknowledged that the overt goal of WHHLPA was to get the Supreme Court to overturn Roe,[6] per the recommendation of the task force (the Supreme Court at that time was shifting in a conservative direction, one that might have been more amenable to overturning Roe: See also Supreme Court of the United States – Political Leanings).
Repealedit
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.[7]
Reaction to WHHLPAedit
Cecilia Fire Thunder, President of the Oglala Sioux tribe in South Dakota, long-time abortion rights advocate, and former California abortion clinic employee, had discussed establishing a Planned Parenthood clinic on Sioux land, which might not have been subject to the state's jurisdiction. Following her comments, the Tribal Council suspended Fire Thunder and voted against allowing abortions on the reservation.[8]
Among those who drew national attention as a result of WHHLPA was State Senator Bill Napoli, whose comments about a hypothetical case wherein abortion could be acceptable were widely reprinted (see his article for more).[9]
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Women s Health and Human Life Protection Act news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2011 Learn how and when to remove this message The Women s Health and Human Life Protection Act was a state law passed by the South Dakota State Legislature in early 2006 It emerged as an effort to overturn Roe v Wade via enacting a ban on abortion in the state of South Dakota The law was repealed by voter referendum on November 7 2006 Contents 1 Legislative history and legal ramifications 2 Repeal 3 Reaction to WHHLPA 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksLegislative history and legal ramifications editIn 2004 both houses of the South Dakota legislature passed House Bill 1191 outlawing abortions but it was vetoed by governor Mike Rounds due to a technicality The state s legislature subsequently passed five laws curtailing the legality of abortion in 2005 1 The majority of a legislative task force 2 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 3 In February 2006 the Legislature passed the Women s Health and Human Life Protection Act which was signed into law by Governor Mike Rounds on March 6 2006 4 This law would have forbidden pregnancy termination under virtually every circumstance including for victims of rape and incest with the exception of a medical procedure designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant mother Physicians performing such procedures would have been required to make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child If these efforts could not be proven physicians could be subject to a fine of 5000 for doing an abortion for any other reason other than to save a women s life 5 The act had specifically defined pregnancy as beginning at the point of conception rather than at implantation into the uterine wall see beginning of pregnancy controversy which might have meant that WHHLPA applied to emergency contraception and on its face possibly all forms of hormonal contraception The text of the bill read Nothing in section 2 of this Act may be construed to prohibit the sale use prescription or administration of a contraceptive measure drug or chemical if it is administered prior to the time when a pregnancy could be determined through conventional medical testing and if the contraceptive measure is sold used prescribed or administered in accordance with manufacturer instructions 2 Several members of the South Dakota legislative majority as well as Governor Rounds acknowledged that the overt goal of WHHLPA was to get the Supreme Court to overturn Roe 6 per the recommendation of the task force the Supreme Court at that time was shifting in a conservative direction one that might have been more amenable to overturning Roe See also Supreme Court of the United States Political Leanings Repeal editA 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 7 Reaction to WHHLPA editCecilia Fire Thunder President of the Oglala Sioux tribe in South Dakota long time abortion rights advocate and former California abortion clinic employee had discussed establishing a Planned Parenthood clinic on Sioux land which might not have been subject to the state s jurisdiction Following her comments the Tribal Council suspended Fire Thunder and voted against allowing abortions on the reservation 8 Among those who drew national attention as a result of WHHLPA was State Senator Bill Napoli whose comments about a hypothetical case wherein abortion could be acceptable were widely reprinted see his article for more 9 See also editAbortion debate Reproductive rightsReferences edit Nieves Evelyn December 27 2005 S D Makes Abortion Rare Through Laws and Stigma Washington Post Retrieved March 2 2023 a b 529M0546 SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ENGROSSED NO HB 1215 State of South Dakota February 17 2006 Retrieved 28 September 2015 Bans Lauren March 30 2006 Anatomy of a Bad Law The Nation Archived from the original on June 21 2006 Retrieved March 2 2023 Slevin Peter August 28 2006 South Dakota becomes abortion focal point NBC News Retrieved 2023 03 02 English Veronica Hamm Danielle Harrison Caroline Sheather Julian Sommerville Ann February 2007 South Dakota vote against abortion ban J Med Ethics 33 2 123 124 doi 10 1136 jme 2006 019844 PMC 2598238 Gray Patricia November 2006 Controversial South Dakota Abortion Law Overturned by Voters PDF Retrieved March 3 2023 What if Roe Fell PDF Center for Reproductive Rights 2023 03 02 Retrieved March 2 2023 ICT Staff April 6 2006 Fire Thunder s choice worthy of respect Indian Country Today Retrieved March 2 2023 PBS NewsHour March 3 2006 South Dakota Abortion Ban PBS Retrieved June 17 2006 External links editFull text of WHHLPA Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Women 27s Health and Human Life Protection Act amp oldid 1175703093, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
