2016 South Dakota Codified Laws
Title 34 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
Chapter 23A - Performance Of Abortions
§ 34-23A-59 Pregnancy help center consultations.

34-23A-59. Pregnancy help center consultations. A pregnancy help center consultation required by §§ 34-23A-53 to 34-23A-59.2, inclusive, shall be implemented as follows:

(1) The pregnancy help center shall be permitted to interview the pregnant mother to determine whether the pregnant mother has been subject to any coercion to have an abortion, or is being pressured into having an abortion, and shall be permitted to inform the pregnant mother in writing or orally, or both, what counseling, education, and assistance that is available to the pregnant mother to help her maintain her relationship with her unborn child and help her care for the child both through the pregnancy help center or any other organization, faith-based program, or governmental program. The pregnancy help center may, if it deems it appropriate, discuss matters pertaining to adoption;

(2) During the consultation interviews provided for by §§ 34-23A-53 to 34-23A-59.2, inclusive, no pregnancy help center, its agents or employees, may discuss with any pregnant mother religion or religious beliefs, either of the mother or the counselor, unless the pregnant mother consents in writing;

(3) The pregnancy help center is under no obligation to communicate with the abortion provider in any way, and is under no obligation to submit any written or other form of confirmation that the pregnant mother consulted with the pregnancy help center. The pregnancy help center may voluntarily provide a written statement of assessment to the abortion provider, whose name the woman shall give to the pregnancy help center, if the pregnancy help center obtains information that indicates that the pregnant mother has been subjected to coercion or that her decision to consider an abortion is otherwise not voluntary or not informed. The physician shall make the physician's own independent determination whether or not a pregnant mother's consent to have an abortion is voluntary, uncoerced, and informed before having the pregnant mother sign a consent to an abortion. The physician shall review and consider any information provided by the pregnancy help center as one source of information, which in no way binds the physician, who shall make an independent determination consistent with the provisions of §§ 34-23A-53 to 34-23A-59.2, inclusive, the common law requirements, and accepted medical standards;

(4) Any written statement or summary of assessment prepared by the pregnancy help center as a result of counseling of a pregnant mother as a result of the procedures created by §§ 34-23A-53 to 34-23A-59.2, inclusive, may be forwarded by the pregnancy help center, in its discretion, to the abortion physician. If forwarded to the physician, the written statement or summary of assessment shall be maintained as a permanent part of the pregnant mother's medical records. Other than forwarding such documents to the abortion physician, no information obtained by the pregnancy help center from the pregnant mother may be released, without the written signed consent of the pregnant mother or unless the release is in accordance with federal, state, or local law;

(5) Commencing on September 1, 2016, the counseling authorized pursuant to this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Uniform Policy and Procedures Guidelines developed and promulgated by the South Dakota Association of Registered Pregnancy Help Centers and adopted in 2015.

Nothing in §§ 34-23A-53 to 34-23A-59.2, inclusive, may be construed to impose any liability upon a pregnancy help center. However, the failure of a pregnancy help center to comply with the conditions of § 34-23A-58.1, 34-23A-59.1 or this section for being authorized to provide the pregnancy help center counseling, if uncorrected, may result in the Department of Health removing the pregnancy help center from the state's registry of pregnancy help centers.

Source: SL 2011, ch 161, § 6; SL 2012, ch 186, § 7; SL 2016, ch 179, § 3.