2024 South Dakota Amendment G

2024 South Dakota Amendment G

November 5, 2024

Right to Abortion Initiative

Elections in South Dakota
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2016 U.S. Senate elections 1889 1891 1894 1897 1901 1903 1903 sp 1907 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1938 sp 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1889 1890 1891 AL sp 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 AL sp 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 AL sp 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Secretary of State elections 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 2022 Senate elections 2020 2022 House of Representatives elections 2020 2022
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment C 2008 Measure 9 Measure 10 2020 Amendment A Measure 26 2024 Amendment G
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South Dakota Amendment G is a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, the amendment would establish a right to abortion in the Constitution of South Dakota up until approximately the second trimester^{[nb 1]} of pregnancy.^[2]

Background[edit]

In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.^[3] South Dakota's first ban on abortion was passed in 1877.^[4] It read:

“Every person who administers to any pregnant woman, or who prescribes for any such woman, or advises or procures any such woman to take any medicine, drug or substance, or uses or employs any instrument, or other means whatever with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless the same is necessary to preserve her life, is punishable by imprisonment in the territorial prison not exceeding three years, or in a county jail not exceeding one year.”

By 1950, the state legislature had passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion, regardless of whether she went through with it, was guilty of a criminal offense.^[3] In 1972, the South Dakota Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the state's abortion ban in State v. Munson.^[5] Munson was overruled less than a year later due to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade.^[6]

In 2005, the South Dakota Legislature enacted a trigger ban on abortion, which would ban abortion if Roe v. Wade was overturned.^[7] A year later, Governor Mike Rounds signed the Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act, a second total ban on abortion, into law. The law's ultimate goal was for the United States Supreme Court to overrule Roe.^[8] The act was ultimately repealed later that year through a ballot initiative led by Planned Parenthood.^[9]

In June of 2022, Planned Parenthood announced it would no longer provide abortion services in the state due to the pending decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This left the state with no abortion provider until the court's decision a week later.^[10] After the court's decision in Dobbs, the state's trigger ban went into effect immediately.^[11]

Text[edit]

That Article VI of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota be amended by adding a NEW SECTION:^[12]

Before the end of the first trimester, the State may not regulate a pregnant woman's abortion decision and its effectuation, which must be left to the judgment of the pregnant woman.

After the end of the first trimester and until the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate the pregnant woman's abortion decision and its effectuation only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.

After the end of the second trimester, the State may regulate or prohibit abortion, except when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman's physician, to preserve the life and health of the pregnant woman.

Endorsements[edit]

Polling[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]