South Dakota's new 72-hour-wait-before-an-abortion law now waiting for pregnancy center support

In South Dakota, a woman who wants an abortion must first receive counseling at a pregnancy help center and then wait 72 hours before she can have the procedure, according to a new law.

Although the country's longest wait bill was signed nearly two months ago, none of the state's pregnancy centers have stepped forward to register with the state as required by the law.

The state will keep a registry of centers who have submitted an affidavit reporting that the center's primary mission is to "educate, counsel and otherwise assist women to help them maintain their relationship with their unborn children," according to HB 1217.

A center must also assert that it doesn't perform abortions, nor have they referred women to abortion clinics in the last three years.

(There is only one abortion clinic in the state, where the provider flies in once a week.)

A center must also reaffirm it has a medical director licensed by or in South Dakota, and that they will comply with the counseling and interviewing procedures required by the new law.

Many pregnancy help centers say they are waiting to see whether the new law is constitutionally challenged before filing such an affidavit.

The Planned Parenthoods of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as the ACLU of South Dakota, say they are planning to file a lawsuit, though nothing has been filed yet, reports the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls. The bill will take effect July 1.

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