WASHINGTON, District of Columbia — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said she thinks it is “wonderful that every state now will be making the decision themselves” on how to regulate abortion after the overturn of infamous pro-abortion Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.
Speaking with a roundtable of reporters at the Young America’s Foundation’s 44th annual National Conservative Student Conference, Noem was asked about her state’s trigger law — to be effective if and when Roe was overturned — that made abortion illegal except to save the life of the mother.
“I think every state will look different, you know, ours, in our state had the trigger law in place,” she said. “I know that’s going to be very different situation than what you’ll see in New York where that governor said she wanted to be a destination that was known for a place people could come to get an abortion.”
Pro-life activists celebrate the decision overturning the controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion decision outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
“It’s appropriate that every state have this discussion,” she continued, “and also that it may look different how they support mothers at this time in their life as well.”
When asked for clarification on Noem’s position on women circumventing the South Dakota law in order to get an abortion out-of-state, Kristi for Governor communications director Ian Fury told Breitbart News, “Governor Noem is morally opposed to abortion except to save the life of the mother, and South Dakota’s law reflects that.”
At the roundtable, Noem also said she is not supportive of initiatives to take legal actions against women seeking abortions, and that she does not “know of any legislators that are seriously pursuing that.” She did say that doctors who provide abortions would see legal ramifications.
During her tenure as governor, Noem has pursued expanding adoption and foster care in South Dakota.
“We have signed up hundreds of new foster care families in the state over the last couple of years, I now pay for the home studies for individuals that would choose to adopt a child,” she said. “This is an opportunity for us, with what has happened with Roe being overturned and sent back to the states, is that we have an opportunity to really show that we do support women — especially women that are in crisis — in ways that we haven’t before.”
She told the group of reporters her state has expanded resources for women who “find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy” so that they know “there are people there ready to walk alongside them, help them with medical care, financial assistance, maybe parenting their child by adoption, or even just a mentorship of a being with them through the process.”
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.