South Dakota Committee Passes Bill to Ban Mail-Order Abortions

A South Dakota Senate committee has advanced legislation cracking down on mail-order abortion pills, taking a key step toward closing loopholes that allow chemical abortions to evade the state’s abortion ban that protects babies.

The Senate State Affairs Committee passed House Bill 1274 on Wednesday in an 8-1 vote, sending the measure to the full Senate for consideration. The bill prohibits the sale, distribution, and advertising of abortion pills in South Dakota, targeting out-of-state companies and bad actors who ship the drugs into the state despite its strict abortion laws.

Republican Rep. John Hughes, the bill’s sponsor, told lawmakers the measure addresses companies that market abortion pills in defiance of state law.

Please follow LifeNews on Rumble for the latest pro-life videos.

“In total disregard of our laws and our values, bad actors are marketing and distributing abortion pills in South Dakota,” Hughes said.

He added, “This is reckless and dangerous commercial conduct for profit that poses a threat to the health, safety, and even the lives of South Dakotans.”

The committee approved an amendment changing the language from “pregnant female” to “person” to facilitate law enforcement operations. State Attorney General Marty Jackley supported the change.

“By the existing law, by requiring it to be a pregnant female, it would require the agent or the law enforcement officer to be a pregnant female,” Jackley said. “By removing that, it allows the tools that law enforcement uses and other substances to move forward in those operations.”

Republican Sen. Carl Perry spoke in favor of the bill.

“Obviously, this is an issue that everyone is interested in and it’s very important and I think that we need to move forward. House Bill 1274 is the right bill at the right time,” he said.

The legislation comes amid ongoing efforts by Attorney General Marty Jackley to combat mail-order abortion pills.

In recent months, Jackley has pursued legal action against groups like Mayday Health, which advertised abortion pills and directed South Dakotans to obtain them, prompting over 650 consumer complaints and a cease-and-desist order. Jackley has emphasized protecting vulnerable women and unborn children from dangerous, unregulated drugs shipped without medical oversight.

South Dakota maintains one of the nation’s best abortion laws, allowing abortions only when necessary to save the mother’s life.

Pro-life advocates argue that mail-order abortion pills undermine this protection by enabling chemical abortions at home, often without proper medical supervision, and pose serious risks including hemorrhage, infection, and emergency complications.

The post South Dakota Committee Passes Bill to Ban Mail-Order Abortions appeared first on LifeNews.com.