South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a law Tuesday requiring women to wait three days after meeting with a doctor to have an abortion, the longest waiting period in the nation. On Monday, March 21, 2011, this law was signed in order to restrict women’s reproductive rights and defer women from having abortions. Naturally, Pro-choice groups began firing up to file lawsuits against the new law. Gov. Daugaard refused to make any verbal comments after signing the bill, but said in a written statement that state attorneys will fight for this law in court, and that a sponsor is willing to fund private money to finance legal costs of the state. The new law also requires women to seek mandatory counseling at pregnancy help centers, also known as Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs). These centers are often filled with unqualified medical personnel. The only purposes of these CPCs are to encourage and persuade women to carry and keep their child. By doing so, staff sometimes “counsels” by using false and misleading information. Visits to these Crisis Pregnancy Centers are against the woman’s will, and women of South Dakota are forced to reconsider aborting their babies.
Student Researcher: Jessica Santos
Faculty Instructor: Elliot D. Cohen
Indian River State College
Source: Benen, Steve. “SOUTH DAKOTA’S ODIOUS NEW ANTI-ABORTION LAW.” Washington Monthly (2011): 1. Web. 23 Mar 2011. <http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/