South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds falsely claimed that the state's abortion ban would allow a woman to have an abortion "using pharmaceuticals." The truth? The abortion ban in South Dakota calls for a near-complete ban on abortions.
So what was Gov. Rounds referring to? According to the
Rapid City Journal, Rounds meant that women in South Dakota can still use emergency contraception (EC, also called the "morning-after pill").
But Gov. Rounds doesn't have the facts right. EC works to prevent pregnancy. If a woman is already pregnant when she takes EC, it will have no effect. Emergency contraception helps prevent the need for abortion. And under South Dakota law, pharmacists can refuse to dispense emergency contraception because of their personal biases -- even to survivors of rape. Same goes for hospital emergency rooms.
This is just another desperate attempt by Gov. Rounds to mislead South Dakotans.