A federal judge on Thursday blocked a new South Dakota abortion law requiring the longest waiting period in the nation at 72 hours and a meeting at a pro-life counseling center before a woman can have the procedure.
The South Dakota law, signed by Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard, also requires a doctor to certify that the pregnant woman has not been coerced into having an abortion and that the potential complications of an abortion have been explained.
Planned Parenthood, which operates the only center that performs abortions in South Dakota, sued to block the law and called the ruling a “decisive victory.”
In a 61-page opinion granting the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Karen Schreier found Planned Parenthood’s challenge would likely succeed.
Source: Reuters