With the legislature out of session today and Monday for the Presidents’ Day Holiday we have time to catch our breath and prepare for the final two weeks of the regular session.

Three bad bills have cleared the House and remain up for consideration on the Senate side; we must remain vigilant and tell our Senators that these bills are out of step with South Dakota values.

HB1254 revisits the coercive mandated counseling women must endure from unlicensed, unregulated pregnancy centers prior to getting permission to obtain an abortion. Thankfully, that law is currently enjoined as it makes its way through the courts. However, in the revised bill, proponents have added additional requirements to an already bad law. Women still are forced to talk to someone who is not their doctor about their private medical decisions and doctors are still forced to provide erroneous and misleading information to women about their medical care all while facing an unprecedented 72 hour waiting period.

HB 1254 will be up for a committee hearing on February 22^nd.  Please contact the committee members below and tell them to stop this misguided legislation. South Dakotans have overwhelmingly rejected such intrusive measures at the ballot box and want their legislators to focus on pertinent issues.

Sen. Jim Bradford
Sen. Ried Holien
Chair Sen. Jean Hunhoff
Vice Chair Sen. Elizabeth Kraus
Sen. Shantel Krebs
Sen. Bruce Rampelberg
Sen. Todd Schlekeway

Also slated to be heard before the committee, but not yet scheduled are House Bills 1185 and 1255 – Both examples of the harm that government overreach can cause.

HB1255 is an anti-surrogacy bill that resurfaced in the current legislative session. Last year saw a surrogacy ban that went after doctors, lawyers and parents desperate to have a child and turned them into criminals. This year’s bill has already seen numerous changes in an attempt to ensure passage. However, the current version bans contracts for any form of surrogacy and removes any protections intended parent’s and surrogates have under the law.  Proponents argue this bill is necessary to prevent baby selling, which is already illegal in South Dakota. The only thing this bill accomplishes is create questions and doubts for parents who want to complete their family. Contact the committee members listed above and your State Senators and tell them this is the wrong path for South Dakota to take on surrogacy and ask them to vote against HB1255.

HB1185 , in its current form, goes beyond federal restrictions already in place by prohibiting private insurance companies from offering coverage for abortion services as part of a regular health insurance policy inside health care exchanges created under the federal health care reform; the restriction remains even if paid 100 percent out of pocket. It creates additional burdensome government regulations that would likely stop any, including voluntary, coverage for abortion in health care policies. Regardless of how you feel about abortion coverage in health care exchanges, the bill is premature as South Dakota and the governor have taken a wait and see approach on health care reform.

Contact the committee members below as well as your State Senators and tell them these bills are wrong for South Dakota and ask them to vote against HB1185 and HB1255.

Sen. Jim Bradford
Sen. Ried Holien
Chair Sen. Jean Hunhoff
Vice Chair Sen. Elizabeth Kraus
Sen. Shantel Krebs
Sen. Bruce Rampelberg
Sen. Todd Schlekeway

Please remain vigilant as session comes to an end.  This year may have lacked the “fireworks” of outrageous legislation we battled in previous sessions, but these quieter attacks on reproductive choice can have the same negative impact on women and families as the blatant assaults we have seen in the past.

Also, please remember to attend your cracker barrels and legislative coffee this weekend!