Abortion-rights measure loses in South Dakota

An attempt to restore abortion rights in South Dakota went down to defeat Tuesday.

The Associated Press called the results at 1:49 a.m. Central time Wednesday. The tally at that time was 61% against Amendment G and 39% in favor, with 64% of statewide votes counted.

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the national right to an abortion in 2022, a trigger ban adopted by the South Dakota Legislature in 2005 immediately took effect. The ban has one exception for abortions necessary to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”

Amendment G would have prohibited first-trimester regulations on “a pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation.” In the second trimester, it would have allowed regulations “reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.” In the third trimester, it would have allowed an abortion ban with a mandatory exception to “preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman.”

This was the third time South Dakotans have voted on a statewide abortion ballot question. Voters rejected a ban passed by the Legislature in 2006 that had one exception to preserve the life of the pregnant woman. They also rejected a citizen-initiated abortion ban in 2008 that included additional exceptions for cases of rape and incest. Both of those measures were defeated by about 55% of voters.

During the campaign against this year’s measure, some anti-abortion ads said the state’s current laws may need to be changed, while saying Amendment G is too extreme.

Jon Hansen, co-chair of the anti-abortion Life Defense Fund and a state representative from Dell Rapids, said Tuesday night that those discussions will continue in the months and years to come.

“There’s already lots of people talking about what the law should look like,” Hansen said.

Voters in at least five states restore reproductive rights

At the polls Tuesday, Colleen Maguire, 64, and her daughter Caitlyn Schwarz, 34, both of Sioux Falls, said they’re Republicans but voted in support of the amendment, against the wishes of many in their party.

“We are women before we’re Republican,” Maguire said.

Donna Mitchell, an independent from Sioux Falls, also voted to pass the amendment.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Mitchell said. “I hated when the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade. As a woman, I want to be able to make decisions about my fertility.”

Meanwhile, Kenya Mejia of Sioux Falls said she was concerned the amendment would make it too easy to get abortions late in the second trimester of pregnancy or later.

“There should be something, but I don’t think this is the right amendment,” Mejia said.

South Dakota was one of 10 states with an abortion-rights measure on its general election ballot Tuesday. The other states were Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and New York.