Concerned Women for America of South Dakota Archives – Concerned Women for America

“The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws.”  -Noah Webster

Prohibit Medical Abortion via Telemedicine
HB1318 would prohibit medical (RU-486) abortion by telemedicine. With COVID came telemedicine and chemical abortion prescribed over the phone. Self-administered chemical abortions lack medical oversight and care. This dangerous practice not only kills a human life but also puts the life and health of the mother at risk. 

To end her pregnancy, the mother takes mifepristone blocking progesterone, which cuts off food from the baby and ends its life. A day or two later, she takes the second pill, Misoprostol. This drug triggers blood flow so that she passes the baby. Women experience a series of symptoms, like abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and even death. If she suffers complications, there is no guarantee that she has a caregiver and may endure alone the hard and depressing process.

HB1318 will require the medicine to be prescribed by a licensed physician in a licensed abortion facility. Both medications must be taken at the facility instead of at home under the care of the facility’s staff. She must be given all the required informed consent as required by any other abortion and return after two weeks for a follow-up checkup.

HB1318 passed in the House with a vote of 62-8. The bill will be heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Monday, February 28. 

Please contact your state senator and ask him/her to support HB1318. If you do not know who your senator is, click here. Send an email message here. 

Coerced Abortion
HB1113 “An Act to prohibit threats made with the intent to coerce an abortion and to provide a penalty therefor.”  This makes it a Class B felony to threaten an expectant mother to coerce her to have an abortion. HB1113 passed unanimously in the House.

HB1113 was heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee but was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee with a “do pass” recommendation for their consideration Tuesday, March 1.

Sports Wagering – Defeated!
SJR502   Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, providing for wagering on sporting events via mobile or electronic platform.”

In 2020, the voters approved the legalization of sports wagering in Deadwood. SJR602 would have asked the voters to expand this form of gambling to the entire state.

SJR502 passed in the Senate on February 7 with a vote of 18-17. We are pleased that SJR502 was defeated in the House State Affairs Committee on February 25.

This defeat means that the issue will not automatically appear on the November ballot. But rather, the gambling stakeholders will now have to begin the arduous process of collecting signatures on petitions if they want it on the ballot.

The Privacy/Bathroom Bill
HB1005, the student privacy/bathroom bill, passed in the House with a vote of 38-29. Check the votes here. We wanted a YES vote. 
 
HB1005 will “provide for the designated use of public-school multi-occupancy rooms and sleeping rooms.” HB1005 will assure girls use private spaces designated for girls and boys use private spaces designated for boys. “Sex” in this bill means the student’s sex as determined at birth. If a student is unable or unwilling to use facilities according to his/her sex, the school must provide a private space for him/her.
 
If your representatives vote Yes, please thank them. If they voted No, kindly express your disappointment.
 
HB1005 will now go to the Senate. 
 
ACTION: Contact your state senator and urge them to support HB1005, the privacy bill. If you do not know who your senator is, click here. Send an email message here, “Please vote YES on HB1005.”  Also, if you are a member of Concerned Women for America of South Dakota, be sure to let them know.

Fairness In Girls Sports
SB46, the Fairness in Girls Sports bill, passed in the House this week with a vote of 50-17. Check the votes here.
 
Gov. Kristi Noem (Republican) signed the bill into law on February 4, 2022. 

Protect our Constitution
A Constitutional Convention bill (Convention of States), HJR5001, started in the House, passed in the full House on January 25 with a vote of 39-30. We wanted a No vote.
 
HJR5001 was heard in the Senate State Affairs Committee, where it was defeated. Check the votes here. We wanted a YES vote to send it to the 41st day. Unfortunately, it will be “smoked out” of committee to send it to the full Senate for debate and a vote.
 
ACTION: Contact your state senator and urge him or her to OPPOSE HJR5001. Be sure to provide your name and address, so they know you are from their district. Senators are getting lots of out-of-state emails but only are concerned with their own constituents. It would be a good idea to put your town in the subject line.
 
If you do not know who your senator is, click here. Send an email message here. 
 
Please read our brochure “The U.S. Constitution is Not the Problem!” to understand this topic. Talking points:

• It is too risky to open our Constitution. There is too much national division and radical interest groups.
• We already have limited government and fiscal restraint stipulations in our Constitution. They just need to be obeyed. The Constitution is not the problem.
• There is too much uncertainty as to how a Constitutional Convention would be conducted. Would Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer be in charge?
• Delegates to a Constitutional Convention could set their own rules with a new and weaker ratification mode. 
• Who selects the delegates? Would California get more than South Dakota? Unknown.
• Our Second Amendment and Electoral College would be threatened.

PRAYER: Lord, we thank you for the freedoms we enjoy in our country. We thank you for those who serve in the state legislature. Please guide and direct them to make decisions that are constitutional and are according to your will.
 
Please share this update with others.

God bless you for your faithfulness in prayer and action.

Sincerely,

Read Concerned Women for America of South Dakota’s Fall 2021 Newsletter.

By now, you have probably learned that Gov. Kristi Noem (Republican) put forth an “errors in style and form” veto of HB1217, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. A “style and form veto” is reserved to correct minor errors, like typos. It does not mean the governor can make major changes to bill language or omit vital sections of a bill that has been passed by the legislature. This is an overreach of executive power.

The governor is sending the bill with her “style and form” veto back to the legislature, which meets on Veto Day, Monday, March 29. On that day, the legislature can vote to accept the new language requiring a majority vote, or they can reject the changes and vote to override the veto of the original HB1217, requiring a two-thirds majority vote.

HB1217 passed in the House 50-17. Forty-six votes are necessary to override the veto in the House. The Senate passed the bill 20-15, and 24 votes will be needed to override a veto there.

Gov. Noem’s changes severely weaken the bill. Here are her changes that she sent back to the legislature for consideration:

1. Lowers the bar on fairness for female athletes. Only elementary and high school girls are covered in the governor’s version of the bill. Fairness for college and beyond females was struck from the bill.
2. Allows the birth certificate to prove the sex of the student. However, according to state law, a person can change the sex on their birth certificate.
3. Removes Section 3 of the bill, which was the enforcement mechanism for the proof of the student’s biological sex and assurance that she or he had not taken performance-enhancing drugs or anabolic steroids.
4. Removes Section 4, which was a “cause of action” if a woman was “deprived of an athletic opportunity” or “suffers direct or indirect harm.”

In a recent poll of South Dakotans, 64% of South Dakotans said boys and men who say they identify as transgender should not be allowed to compete in girls’ and women’s athletics. In the same survey, 54% said Gov. Noem should stand up against corporate threats and boycotts.

Why the veto then? It appears that economic development takes precedence over fairness for women’s sports and general common sense. The Chamber of Commerce, the NCAA, Amazon, Nike, and others claim they and the state would lose millions of dollars if HB1217 were made law. South Dakota should not be subservient to these entities. They are the ones who should change their policies to reflect science and common sense.

ACTION:

1. Email Noem and kindly encourage her to do the right thing and sign the original HB1217 as passed by the legislature.
2. If your senator voted “Yes” to support HB1217, thank him or her with encouragement to continue to support the original language of HB1217. If he or she voted “No,” please urge his or her support of the original language of HB1217.
3. Forward this information to friends and family.

PRAYER: Pray that Gov. Noem will have a change of heart and support the original language of HB1217 that passed the state legislature.  Pray that the legislature will have enough votes to override her veto.

God bless you for your faithfulness in prayer and action,

Linda Schauer
State Director