House Bill 1212 would establish equal protection of the laws for preborn babies, ensuring that the same laws already protecting born persons are applied to preborn persons as well.

Provides Equal Protection to Preborn Children

If we truly believe that a fetus is a person made in the image of God, then to be consistent with the U.S. Constitution and God’s Word, the laws which protect human beings who are born must equally protect those who are not yet born.

“No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” U.S. Constitution, 14th Amendment.

“There are inconsistencies between Fourteenth Amendment status and the typical abortion statute. If the fetus is a person, why is the woman not a principal or an accomplice? If the fetus is a person, may the penalties be different?” Supreme Court of the United States. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 157-58 n. 54 (1973).

“All political power is inherent in the people, and all free government is founded on their authority, and is instituted for their equal protection and benefit.” South Dakota Constitution, Article VI, § 26.

“We believe that life begins at conception. We affirm the sanctity of all human life, including the unborn, those with congenital abnormalities, the elderly, the chronically ill, the terminally ill, and differently abled. We oppose abortion and assisted suicide in all forms.” South Dakota Republican Party Platform.

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” The Golden Rule. Matthew 7:12.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31.

“You shall not be partial in judgment.” Deuteronomy 1:17.

Does the bill criminalize women?

No. The bill criminalizes the act of knowingly and willfully causing the death of a preborn child.

To deter such conduct and to provide equal protection of the laws, the bill does prohibit everyone, including pregnant mothers, from engaging in the unlawful act of prenatal homicide.

Once the bill is passed and becomes effective, the justice system would determine on a case-by-case basis whether any report of suspected prenatal homicide would be investigated and prosecuted and for what charge, and whether anyone would be convicted and sentenced. This justice system includes:

Law enforcement
Prosecutors
Grand juries
Trial juries
Judges
Multiple appellate courts

All defendants would have the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, and all other constitutionally required due process. The state would bear the burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Finally, before any sentence could be imposed upon any defendant, the people participating in that justice system process would be required to be in nearly unanimous agreement that the process and outcome were just.

FAQs

Did the Human Life Protection Act significantly reduce abortions in South Dakota?

No. It only regulates abortion by prohibiting third parties like clinics from performing abortions.

However, it allows pregnant mothers to “self-induce” their own abortions throughout the pregnancy. This also means that, up to a point, it remains legal for others to pressure pregnant mothers into aborting their babies.

The following video is from a pro-abortion service helping women obtain abortion pills.

Despite the recently enacted Human Life Protection Act, South Dakota babies are still being aborted on a horrific scale. Based on conservative projections, over 768 South Dakota preborn babies were legally murdered in 2024 as allowed by current South Dakota law.[1] Over 460 occurred out of state,[2] while another 308 South Dakota mothers legally performed DIY at-home abortions using the abortion pill.[3]

According to the New York Times, “In nearly every state that has banned abortion, the number of women receiving abortions increased between 2020 and the end of 2023 … Some women traveled to clinics in states where abortions were legal. Others ordered abortion pills from U.S. doctors online.”

NOTES:

South Dakota Code 34-23A-10.2, 34-23A-64, 34-23A-69, and 34-23A-90.
Maddow-Zimet I, Philbin J, DoCampo I and Jones RK, Monthly Abortion Provision Study, updated November 18, 2025, https://osf.io/k4x7t.
Society of Family Planning. #WeCount Report April 2022 through December 2024. 23 Jun. 2025, https://societyfp.org/wecount-report-9-december-2024-data/, https://doi.org/10.46621/725961gzsnai. The telehealth numbers in this chart are adjusted down from #WeCount totals to account for studies that indicate only 88% of mail order abortion pills are actually taken to complete an abortion. See the Babies Unprotected report for additional sources.

Could anyone who has been involved with an abortion in the past be prosecuted?

No. Retroactive application is explicitly prohibited by the South Dakota Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, and by the bill itself.

Could the bill punish women who have had miscarriages?

No. The bill explicitly provides that it does not apply to miscarriages.

Would the bill allow doctors to deal with medical emergencies like ectopic pregnancies?

Yes. The bill explicitly allows this.

SECTION-BY-SECTION

Bill Section 1

This section amends existing South Dakota wrongful death laws to ensure that the wrongful death or neglect of preborn children are covered by those statutes. This means parents or other impacted parties can file civil lawsuits when their preborn children undergo wrongful death.

Bill Section 2

This section makes clear that South Dakota homicide law equally protects preborn children, superseding any previously passed statues pertaining to abortion.

The bill does not apply to medical care resulting in the unintentional injury or death of an unborn child resulting from lifesaving procedures undertaken to save the life of a pregnant mother when accompanied by reasonable and available steps to save the life of the mother ’s unborn child. This provision is consistent with the Dublin Declaration.

The bill does not apply to a spontaneous miscarriage, which is the accidental or natural death of a preborn child.

Bill Section 3

This section repeals previous South Dakota fetal homicide law, since preborn children will be equally protected under existing homicide law alongside people who have already been born.

Bill Section 4

This section repeals previous South Dakota law granting legal immunity to women who obtain abortions, ensuring that any woman who willfully murders her preborn child can be subject to criminal penalties alongside all other parties in the abortion.

South Dakota 2026 HB 1212

Overview