Haugaard resolution that could ban abortions in South Dakota moves forward

PIERRE, S.D. - A resolution that redefines the start of life as beginning when an egg is fertilized, intended to set the stage for an abortion ban in South Dakota, cleared a House committee on Wednesday.

House Joint Resolution 5003 passed South Dakota’s House State Affairs Committee Wednesday by a vote of 8 to 4. If approved by both the House and Senate, the proposed amendment to the state constitution would go before voters in the form of a ballot question during the next general election this November.

The primary sponsor of the bill, gubernatorial candidate and current State Rep. Steve Haugaard (R-Sioux Falls), said the amendment could eventually give the legislature the ability to outlaw abortion.

“Our founding documents and our heritage are constant reminders that we owe a duty of respect to our fellow man,” Haugaard said during a press conference on the resolution. “And that duty includes acknowledging that the right to life exists from conception to the moment of natural death.”

Haugaard also said the bill “leads us in the direction of fine-tuning whatever abortion laws we will have going forward.”

During the press conference, Haugaard also said that he would have brought the resolution even if he was not currently running for Governor.

Governor Noem’s campaign did not wish to comment on Haugaard’s resolution or his press conference.

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