Equal Protection Bill Narrowly Fails in South Dakota Amid Pro-Life Opposition
House Bill 1212, which would have abolished abortion in South Dakota, was heard in the South Dakota Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday. The legislation fell only two votes short of advancement despite immense pressure from several Pro-Life establishment groups and lobbyists against the effort.
The Foundation to Abolish Abortion was honored to work with South Dakota State Representative Tony Randolph, South Dakota State Senator John Carley, and other grassroots conservative Christians to advocate for House Bill 1212.
First Equal Protection Bill in South Dakota History
House Bill 1212 would have established equal protection of the laws for preborn babies by safeguarding their lives with the same homicide, assault, and wrongful death laws already protecting born people.
The legislation was the first equal protection measure in the history of South Dakota. The measure would have closed loopholes in Pro-Life regulations that provide complete immunity to women who willfully murder their preborn babies, thereby abolishing abortion in the state.
Pro-Life regulations in South Dakota have effectively shuttered physical abortion facilities, but rising popularity for self-induced abortion means that abortion numbers in South Dakota are increasing.
There are still hundreds of telehealth abortions each year in the state, which does not even include abortions obtained through out-of-state travel or methods outside of the formal medical system.
Pro-Life Groups Oppose Equal Protection
Almost immediately after House Bill 1212 was introduced, Pro-Life establishment leaders and organizations launched a massive pressure campaign to oppose the effort.
In public social media posts and private emails to lawmakers, Pro-Life groups made clear that they would oppose any effort to close loopholes keeping abortion legal for women in South Dakota.
Pro-Life establishment groups that opposed the legislation included:
National Right to Life
South Dakota Right to Life
South Dakota Conference of Catholic Bishops
South Dakota Family Voice
Concerned Women of America
Alpha Center Pregnancy Resources
Pro-Life establishment groups were joined in testifying against House Bill 1212 by left-wing organizations such as the ACLU of South Dakota and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
South Dakota residents were dismayed to learn that Pro-Life groups they believed existed to oppose abortion were instead siding with left-wing activists to oppose treating abortion as murder.
Christians Defend Equal Protection Bill in Hearing
House Bill 1212 was heard on Thursday morning by the South Dakota Health and Human Services Committee. Representative Randolph acknowledged to his colleagues that they faced immense pressure to oppose the effort, while also exhorting them to honor God by voting to advance the legislation.
Foundation to Abolish Abortion President Bradley Pierce was able to defend House Bill 1212 before the lawmakers, debunking false narratives about the legal impacts of the measure.
Others who testified for the legislation included anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson, pregnancy center director Ginna Cross of Alliance Family Services, and AJ Hurley of the White Rose Resistance.
Pro-Life establishment leaders, such as Dale Bartscher of South Dakota Right to Life, meanwhile testified against House Bill 1212, claiming that women who have abortions should never face criminal penalties.
House Bill 1212 narrowly failed to advance to the floor of the South Dakota House, with five lawmakers voting in favor of the legislation and eight lawmakers voting against the effort.
The lawmakers who voted for the legislation included:
Representative Brandei Schaefbauer
Representative Dylan Jordan
Representative Josephine Garcia
Representative Heather Baxter
Representative Bobbi Andera
The lawmakers who voted against the legislation included:
Representative Brian Mulder
Representative Logan Manhart
Representaive Taylor Rehfeldt
Representative Nick Fosness
Representative Leslie Heinemann
Representative Jim Halverson
Representative Tony Kayser
Representative Eric Emery
Groundswell of Christian Grassroots Support
House Bill 1212 only falling two votes short of advancement was a remarkable development, especially considering that major Pro-Life groups aggressively opposed the legislation, and that House Bill 1212 was the very first equal protection measure ever proposed in South Dakota.
Christians across the state of South Dakota also took notice of the battle for House Bill 1212. One lawmaker who voted for the measure told the Foundation to Abolish Abortion that she received over 600 calls and emails about the effort, with only 40 of them in opposition.
Many grassroots conservative Christians are interested in forming a state-level organization to support future equal protection battles in South Dakota, an endeavor which the Foundation to Abolish Abortion is helping to facilitate.
We are thankful that God was honored by Representative Randolph, Senator Carley, and the oher lawmakers in South Dakota who took political risks in order to support House Bill 1212. We are prayerful and hopeful that God would continue to awaken the church in South Dakota to abolish abortion in their state once and for all.