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VIEWPOINT | Can politicians deny emergency care to pregnant people?
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VIEWPOINT | Can politicians deny emergency care to pregnant people?

By Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota

Jun 23, 2024
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VIEWPOINT | Can politicians deny emergency care to pregnant people?
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Most people assume that a hospital is the safest place to be in the event of a medical emergency. But that’s not true for pregnant people in South Dakota. Because of the state’s total ban on all abortion care, with a dangerously vague exception for the life of the pregnant patient, pregnant people experiencing life- and health-threatening conditions are at risk while hospital lawyers attempt to interpret the law into what kind of medical care doctors can provide for them. That’s not easy to do in a time-sensitive, emergency situation. 

Our state legislators think an educational video will help. 

The video isn’t available yet – the Department of Health has until Sept. 1 to finish it, according to the law passed this year ordering its production – but legislators think it will help doctors understand when they can end a pregnancy without risking prison time under the state’s near-total abortion ban.

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