Dale Bartscher of South Dakota Right to Life reports that the state's lone abortion facility has ceased operations. According to LifeNews, South Dakota follows Oklahoma and is the second abortion-free state in America.
Kevin Stitt (R-OK) signed a Texas-style bill banning abortions starting at conception with a private enforcement mechanism. Texas was the first state to ban abortions, but its ban starts when the heartbeat of the unborn baby is detectable, at approximately six weeks, so not all abortions are banned there.
"Planned Parenthood is located in Sioux Falls, and it serves patients in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota," Bartscher details. "It performed its last abortion on Monday, June the 14th. It's paused its operations."
But considering this is not the first time this clinic has closed, he says the shut-down could be temporary -- like it was when the facility closed during COVID in 2020.
"It does mean that they'll go right back into business more than likely," he suspects. "We do know … that abortions at this facility were already sporadic. A Minnesota doctor was flying in about once a month to provide them," the pro-lifer adds.
One factor is the awaited U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether the 1973 precedent that legalized abortion nationwide is overturned. If it is, then South Dakota in one of 13 states with a trigger law that will automatically go into effect and completely ban abortion.
