South Dakota's attempt to define what 'life of mother' means now put on hold

PIERRE — A bill that would have further defined what is considered the life of the mother when a pregnant woman needs a medical abortion, because her life is at risk, has been put on pause indefinitely.

Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, R-Sioux Falls, tabled her bill Tuesday morning during a hearing of the House Health and Human Services committee, on a day in the Capitol where women across the state came to represent for Women for Women lobbying day. Rehfeldt said support had been withdrawn by South Dakota Right to Life, but vowed she would continue to work on efforts to define the phrase - the only exception currently allowed for abortion under state law.

The bill, which sought to allow doctors to determine if a pregnant woman needed an abortion when "by continuing the pregnancy, the female is at serious risk of death or of a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of one or more major bodily functions."

More:New GOP bill would define 'life of mother' in South Dakota's abortion trigger law

Rehfeldt had already worked on multiple amendments of the bill in conjunction with the anti-abortion group and was told Monday the group would be withdrawing its support.

"I probably could have gotten out of committee and probably could have gotten out of the House," she said. "But at the end of the day, I don't think the bill would have been signed with the outside pressures. And at that point, if I can't get the result, that's why it was tabled."

South Dakota Right for Life executive director Dale Bartscher had no comment about the decision made to table the bill.

Since the United States Supreme Court determined in June that abortion rights should be returned to the states, overturning 50 years of Roe v. Wade, a South Dakota trigger law went into effect, immediately banning abortions even in the case of rape and incest. The only exception is when the life of the mother is at risk.

After the June decision, Democrats called for a special session to attempt to create exemptions for rape and incest, something that has not been apart of South Dakota abortion law in the history of the state.

Rehfeldt said she didn't believe another bill would be brought this session to further define the phrase.

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"I will plan to continue to work on the language, because it's not an issue that I plan to give up at all," she said. "I think it's vitally important that South Dakota women, that South Dakota providers know that women are supposed to be protected in the case of healthcare issues during pregnancy.

"The law that says that a life of the mother should be preserved has been in place since 1887. I mean, that is crazy to me that this should even be an issue that's debated," Rehfeldt said. "It's a non-debatable issue for me, so I'm not giving up. I'm just saying not yet."

The issue is close to home for Rehfeldt, who has been open about her own high-risk pregnancies and what could happen if something went wrong during the course of her pregnancy. During her public testimony Tuesday, Rehfeldt, through tears, said she was currently four months pregnant and due to the nature of her pregnancy, she is at risk for clotting, which are life threatening to her.

"I'm a mom that understands very deeply what this bill means and what it means to my family, and what it means to moms, dads, sisters and kids," she said, adding that with the current law in place she wakes up fearful of her pregnancy, not knowing if doctors could take life-saving measures because of the lack of clarity in the law and what would happen to her family. "My story is just one of, if not hundreds or thousands, of life-threatening conditions women can experience."

As a healthcare provider outside of her work in the Legislature, Rehfeldt said she sees herself continuing to educate lawmakers about the complexities of health care and having difficult conversations.

"No one wants to talk about a woman bleeding from pregnancy. No one wants to talk about an infection that threatens her life and no one wants to talk about a case like mine, where I could have a clot that makes me disabled," Rehfeldt said. "And those conversations have to be had. But that's part of my responsibility is to educate."

Rep. Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls, said she was aware the debate over the bill was going to be fierce. She said she regretfully seconded the motion to table the bill, because it was the right thing to do to show respect to Rehfeldt.

"Honestly, there's a lot of disappointment today," Healy said. "But it gives us more of a reason to show up and to continue the fight for healthcare."

For some in the room, like Lexi McGee-Hemenway, who drove from Vermillion to testify in support of the bill, there was an air of confusion. McGee-Hemenway, who leads the Students for Reproductive Rights at the University of South Dakota, said she had quickly written down notes to testify, but before she could get up to the stand, the bill had been tabled.

"Right now, I'm just sad, because if we don't clarify the language of the abortion bans in South Dakota, it's going to kill people," the University of South Dakota senior said. "Doctors can't perform necessary health care if they don't have the right to know what is an emergency abortion. Does that mean that they have to physically be dying in front of me in order to provide them necessary care or can it be preventative?"

Petitions to get abortion access on the 2024 ballot are currently circulating.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Effort to define 'life of mother' in SD abortion debate delayed