The Hill reports that South Dakota Republicans just blocked a piece of anti-abortion legislation from Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R). 

The bill that was blocked was one of two pieces of legislation that Noem recently proposed during the 49th annual March for Life that was held in mid-January. It was largely based on Texas Heartbeat Act, which has garnered much media attention in recent months.

Background

What the bill would have done is make it illegal for an abortion to be performed once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is often around the six-week mark of the pregnancy. No exceptions were provided for rape or incest.

Just like the Texas Heartbeat Act, Noem’s proposal would have put enforcement in the hands of the people of South Dakota, allowing them to bring a lawsuit against anyone who furthers such an abortion.

“Every human life is unique and beautiful from the moment it is conceived,” Noem said. “Every life is worthy of our protection, worthy of the right to live.”

It’s been blocked

According to the Associated Press, the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday chose not to take on Noem’s proposal. The committee had concerns about the language used by Noem, specifically, that it might interfere with an ongoing lawsuit involving Planned Parenthood.

The outlet reports South Dakota House Speaker Spencer Gosch (R) as saying that “he shared Noem’s goal of banning all abortions but that the language she proposed would ‘jeopardize’ the state’s involvement in a separate legal battle with Planned Parenthood.”

Planned Parenthood, the outlet noted, is South Dakota’s only health clinic that provides abortions.

The Hill provided the details of this lawsuit, reporting:

Planned Parenthood, along with the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, filed a lawsuit last month challenging a new rule that would mandate that patients wait at least 24 hours before they can be given the second portion of a two-dose medication needed for a medication abortion, according to a statement from Planned Parenthood. The regulation would require that patients visit a health center on three separate occasions to receive an abortion.

Noem responds

Noem, as she made clear in a statement that she released, was livid with the committee’s decision.

“Every single life is precious and deserving of our protection — but apparently South Dakota legislators think otherwise,” she said.

“South Dakota deserved to have a hearing on a bill to protect the heartbeats of unborn children,” Noem added. “We can hear heartbeats at six weeks, but I’m disappointed this bill was not granted even one hearing