Pierre, SD - Today the Governor Mike Rounds of South Dakota signed legislation to ban most abortions. House Bill 1215, which passed the House by a vote of 50-18 and the Senate by a vote of 23-12, is scheduled to take effect in July.

HB 1215 concurs with the findings of a task force established by the legislature and the governor to study abortion. The task force created a 71-page, single-spaced document presenting a comprehensive overview of a broad range of testimony from counselors, abortion clinics, former abortion practitioners, experts in the field of medicine, and almost 2,000 women who had abortions. The findings address the physical, psychological and societal devastation caused by abortion.

The law states that "life begins at the time of conception, a conclusion confirmed by scientific advances since the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade, including the fact that each human being is totally unique immediately at fertilization." The law says, "to fully protect the rights, interests, and health of the pregnant mother, the rights, interest, and life of her unborn child, and the mother's fundamental natural intrinsic right to a relationship with her child, abortions in South Dakota should be prohibited." The law also states, "guarantee of due process of law under the Constitution of South Dakota applies equally to born and unborn human beings, and that under the Constitution of South Dakota, a pregnant mother and her unborn child, each possess a natural and inalienable right to life."

The new law bans abortions except in cases where it is necessary to save the mother's life, but with no exceptions for health, rape or incest. The law prohibits both chemical and surgical abortions but does not apply to contraceptive measures or to unintentional death to the unborn child.

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated, "I applaud the governor and the legislature for extending life and liberty to all Americans, including our unborn. To the skeptics that say some legislation is premature, I say that this legislation is long overdue. We can no longer remain silent while our children are killed, women are exploited, and our families are destroyed by abortion. One day we will look with shame on our history of legal abortion since 1973. I believe in the near future, Roe v. Wade will be overturned and the right to life for all people will be firmly protected by our laws."