In November, South Dakotans living with a near-total abortion ban could vote to reverse that prohibition through a proposed constitutional amendment. Currently, abortion is completely banned and criminalized in South Dakota, except for the life of the mother. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
If the citizen-initiated Constitutional Amendment G passes, it would return the state to a trimester framework that leaves abortion decisions to women in the first trimester while allowing regulations that are “reasonably related” to the health of the woman in the second trimester, and a ban of abortion, except to “preserve the life and health” of the woman, in the third. Even in one of the country’s most conservative states, the near-total ban has divided voters. A fall 2023 poll by South Dakota State University that a majority of registered voters want exceptions for rape and incest.
However, while 48 percent of those surveyed supported returning to the abortion access standards that existed before the decision, 40 percent opposed such a move. Pro-choice advocates argue that the South Dakota lawmakers responsible for the current ban are out of touch with the electorate. But some anti-abortion groups the ballot measure as a potential win: The higher turnout of a presidential election year, they believe, favors Republicans who oppose abortion.
Moreover, even if the amendment passes, the GOP supermajority that controls the state legislature may find a way to work aroun.
