The Legislature finds that as abortion medicine is now practiced in South Dakota that:

(1) In the overwhelming majority of cases, abortion surgery and medical abortions are scheduled for a pregnant mother without the mother first meeting and consulting with a physician or establishing a traditional physician-patient relationship;

(2) The surgical and medical procedures are scheduled by someone other than a physician, without a medical or social assessment concerning the appropriateness of such a procedure or whether the pregnant mother’s decision is truly voluntary, uncoerced, and informed, or whether there has been an adequate screening for a pregnant mother with regard to the risk factors that may cause complications if the abortion is performed;

(3) Such practices are contrary to the best interests of the pregnant mother and her child and there is a need to protect the pregnant mother’s interest in her relationship with her child and her health by passing remedial legislation;

(4) There exists in South Dakota a number of pregnancy help centers, as defined in § 34-23A-53, which have as their central mission providing counseling, education, and other assistance to pregnant mothers to help them maintain and keep their relationship with their unborn children, and that such counseling, education, and assistance provided by these pregnancy help centers is of significant value to the pregnant mothers in helping to protect their interest in their relationship with their children; and

(5) It is a necessary and proper exercise of the state’s authority to give precedence to the mother’s fundamental interest in her relationship with her child over the irrevocable method of termination of that relationship by induced abortion.

Source: SL 2011, ch 161, § 1.