This bill clarifies South Dakota's definition of abortion to specify that it means intentionally ending a pregnancy, while explicitly excluding accidental deaths during medical treatment, miscarriage care, ectopic pregnancy treatment, and procedures to save the unborn child's life or health. The change ensures that doctors providing standard medical care—like treating complications or infections—cannot be prosecuted under the state's abortion law as long as any fetal death is unintentional.
The bill was rewritten to define abortion and related terms comprehensively rather than regulate abortion reporting, adding detailed medical exceptions and modifying penalty classifications.
The amendment corrected punctuation and grammar in the definition of "probable gestational age," changing "what, that which in the judgment of the physician," to "that which in the judgment of the physician" and removing an unnecessary comma.
Other amendments
Signed by the Governor H.J. 579
Delivered to the Governor H.J. 534
Signed by the President S.J. 486
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 516
Senate Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 31, NAYS 2. S.J. 447
State Affairs Do Pass Passed, YEAS 8, NAYS 1. S.J. 37
State Affairs Scheduled for hearing
First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 398
House of Representatives Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 60, NAYS 6. H.J. 426
State Affairs Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 10, NAYS 2.
State Affairs Motion to amend
State Affairs Scheduled for hearing
House of Representatives Referred to House State Affairs H.J. 294
House of Representatives Prime Sponsor Changed at the Request of the Prime Sponsor H.J. 246
First Reading House H.J. 207
Prime sponsor · Rep.
R
Prime sponsor · Sen.
R
Cosponsors
Do Pass Amended
State Affairs — Do Pass
Do Pass Amended
State Affairs — Do Pass Amended