State legislature kills bill from survivors of Catholic school abuse

The South Dakota Legislature has killed a proposal to open a two-year window for victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits against organizations in which the abuse occurred.

Lawmakers heard emotional testimony from a woman who described how she and other young children were raped and abused during the 1950s and 1960s at a Catholic boarding school for Native Americans.

For nearly a decade, a group of nine sisters has made their case to lawmakers in Pierre. The women argued that lawmakers' inaction keeps organizations unaccountable for sexual abuse and could allow future abuse.