Repro Roundup: South Dakota hasn’t had an abortion clinic since March

Welcome to my column, The Repro Roundup, in which I summarize abortion news happening around the country, why it matters, and what you can do about it — in 250 words or less.

What’s the issue? Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Dakota’s sole abortion clinic has stopped providing abortion care. Previously, the Planned Parenthood of Sioux Falls was having physicians from Minnesota travel to the clinic about once a week to perform abortions but with the danger and risk of infection, the clinic stopped having them come. The clinic is still open and providing other forms of reproductive health care.

According to the state’s Department of Health, an abortion in South Dakota costs between $600-$699 and 83% of patients pay out of pocket because they were either uninsured or their insurance didn’t cover the cost.

Additionally, the state has a 72-hour waiting period which requires that a patient have two separate consults with the same doctor. The doctor is also required by law to share lies and biased information with the patient. Telehealth is not allowed in the state.

Lastly, South Dakota has a trigger law on the books that would make abortion the state illegal immediately if Roe were to fall.

Why does this matter? According to the Justice Through Empowerment Network (JEN), most women decided to travel to abortion clinics in other states rather than arrange time off work, childcare, housing, and other expenses that come with traveling 4+ hours twice due to the 72-hour waiting period. This means that women who are not able to accomplish this or aren’t able to travel out of state cannot access care. This primarily affects low-income, women of color, and minors. It is incredibly difficult to access abortion care but given the COVID-19 pandemic, it is nearly impossible. Waiting periods are demeaning, patriarchal, and dangerous.

How can I take action?

• Donate to the Justice through Empowerment Network so they can continue to provide financial help for women in the state cover costs associated with abortion care, transportation, childcare, lodging, interpreters, medications, food, birth control, and the morning-after pill. They also help patients access abortion care in other states.
• Sign NCJW’s petition urging Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act which would codify the protections of Roe through the legislature.
• Sign the National Women’s Health Networks petition to the FDA.
• Read about the different kinds of TRAP (Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers) Laws that affect clinics like those in South Dakota
• Read more about why government-mandated delays to abortion care are harmful from the ACLU.
• Discover which states have mandatory waiting periods and how long each is from KFF.
• Discover which states have TRAP laws on the books from NARAL.
• Learn which states have trigger laws that would restrict or outlaw abortion if Roe fell from Guttmacher Institute.

• Subscribe to The Repro Queen of DC, my monthly newsletter on abortion access, activism, and writing on the frontlines of DC.
• Subscribe to Repro 101, a seven-week educational email series about all things repro. Topics include the basics of funding abortion, clinic escorting, anti-choice violence, and more.