2016 South Dakota Codified Laws
Title 34 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
Chapter 23A - Performance Of Abortions
§ 34-23A-61 Civil action for failure to comply with chapter.

34-23A-61. Civil action for failure to comply with chapter. In any civil action presenting a claim arising from a failure to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, the following shall apply:

(1) The failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter relative to obtaining consent for the abortion shall create a rebuttable presumption that if the pregnant mother had been informed or assessed in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, she would have decided not to undergo the abortion;

(2) If the trier of fact determines that the abortion was the result of coercion, and it is determined that if the physician acted prudently, the physician would have learned of the coercion, there is a nonrebuttable presumption that the mother would not have consented to the abortion if the physician had complied with the provisions of §§ 34-23A-53 to 34-23A-62, inclusive;

(3) If evidence is presented by a defendant to rebut the presumption set forth in subdivision (1), then the finder of fact shall determine whether this particular mother, if she had been given all of the information a reasonably prudent patient in her circumstance would consider significant, as well as all information required by §§ 34-23A-53 to 34-23A-62, inclusive, to be disclosed, would have consented to the abortion or declined to consent to the abortion based upon her personal background and personality, her physical and psychological condition, and her personal philosophical, religious, ethical, and moral beliefs;

(4) The pregnant mother has a right to rely upon the abortion doctor as her source of information, and has no duty to seek any other source of information, other than from a pregnancy help center as referenced in §§ 34-23A-56 and 34-23A-57, prior to signing a consent to an abortion;

(5) No patient or other person responsible for making decisions relative to the patient's care may waive the requirements of this chapter, and any verbal or written waiver of liability for malpractice or professional negligence arising from any failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter is void and unenforceable.
Source: SL 2011, ch 161, § 9; SL 2012, ch 186, § 10.