Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act

The  Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act  was a state law passed by the South Dakota State Legislature in early 2006. It emerged as an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade via enacting a ban on abortion in the state of South Dakota. The law was repealed by voter referendum on November 7th, 2006.

Legislative history and legal ramifications
In 2004, a bill outlawing abortion passed both houses of the legislature, but was vetoed by the Governor due to a technicality. The state's legislature subsequently passed five laws curtailing the legality of abortion in 2005. The majority of a legislative "task force" then issued a report recommending that the Legislature illegalize all abortions, which would lead to a challenge of the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade in the United States Supreme Court. A separate minority report criticizing the process and reaching different conclusions was also released.

In February of 2006, the Legislature passed the Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act, which was signed into law by Governor Mike Rounds on March 6, 2006. This law would have forbidden pregnancy termination under virtually every circumstance, including for victims of rape and incest, with the exception of "a medical procedure designed or intended to prevent the death of a pregnant mother." Physicians performing such procedures would have been required to "...make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child."

The act had specifically defined pregnancy as beginning at the point of conception rather than at implantation into the uterine wall (see beginning of pregnancy controversy), which might have meant that WHHLPA applied to emergency contraception and possibly all forms of hormonal contraception.

Several members of the South Dakota legislative majority, as well as Governor Rounds, acknowledged that the overt goal of WHHLPA was to get the Supreme Court to overturn Roe per the recommendation of the task force (the Supreme Court at that time was shifting in a conservative direction, one that might have been more amenable to overturning Roe:  See also Supreme Court of the United States -- Political Leanings).

Repeal
A referendum to repeal the Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act was placed on ballot for the November 2006 statewide election due to a successful petition drive by the organization South Dakota Healthy Families. On May 30, over 38,000 petition signatures were filed, more than twice the 17,000 required to place a measure on the ballot. On November 7, WHHLPA was repealed by the South Dakota electorate; the vote was 56%-44% favoring repeal. 

Reaction to WHHLPA

 * Several pro-life activist organizations hailed WHHLPA as an important measure to protect fetuses. One such organization, Pro-Life Wisconsin, encouraged families to vacation in South Dakota as a political statement.


 * Since the legislative task force report did not include the testimony of several legal and medical experts who spoke in support of keeping abortion a safe and legal option, criticism was leveled that the majority report was biased and medically inaccurate.


 * Leslee Unruh, a major promoter of the law and founder of the Alpha Center (which counsels women away from abortion), reported that with the passage of the bill, she had received coat hangers, hate mail, and threatening phone calls, and that her home has been splattered with eggs and dead animals placed outside of her husband's chiropractic office. She believes that these actions are in response to her activism.


 * Cecilia Fire Thunder, President of the Oglala Sioux tribe in South Dakota, long-time abortion advocate and former California abortion clinic employee, had discussed establishing a Planned Parenthood clinic on Sioux land. Such a clinic may not have been subject to the state's jurisdiction .  Following her comments, the Tribal Council, which had voted against allowing abortions on the reservation, suspended Fire Thunder.  In the notice of suspension, she was advised not to speak to the media, which she claims is a violation of her constitutional rights.  The council is now considering her impeachement for raising funds for a Planned Parenthood clinic without permission.


 * Among those who drew national attention as a result of WHHLPA was State Senator Bill Napoli, whose comments about a hypothetical case wherein abortion could be acceptable were widely reprinted (see his article for more). Napoli's quotes were parodied in the comic strip Minimum Security; the parody included both his home and work telephone numbers .  The original of the strip was sold by the artist for over $2000 on EBay to raise money for pro-choice causes.