This just in: South Dakota worst state for women

Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones has the scoop on a new bill that makes killing an abortion provider a-okay:

A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of “justifiable homicide” to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus—a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state’s GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon.

Feel like killing a abortion provider? South Dakota may soon be the place for you! Of course, the bill may run into a few legal problems, like whether this is constitutional. As Sara Rosenbaum, a law professor at George Washington University, told MoJo, “Constitutionally, a state cannot make it a crime to perform a constitutionally lawful act.” But I’m sure constitution-loving conservatives will find a way around it.

And don’t worry, everyone — they’ve got their eye on the real problem, aka creeping sharia law. Domestic terrorism: yay! Imaginary threats from groups of people we don’t understand: boo!

But as Adam Sewer points out, this is similar to the HR3 bait-and-switch. While the media got riled up about a redefinition of rape that will only include those that leave visible bruises, the rest of the bill was packed with anti-choice, anti-woman, anti-life provisions. And so while this bill in South Dakota makes the blood boil, there are other things to be mad about too. House Bill 1217 would force women to get counseling from a CPC and require a 72-hour wait before getting an abortion. It would also require doctors to analyze “risk factors associated with abortion” for each woman, something that’s pretty vague and may leave them open to lawsuits.

Not to mention all of the other restrictive laws the state already has. Sheppard:

Before performing an abortion, a South Dakota doctor must offer the woman the opportunity to view a sonogram. And under a law passed in 2005, doctors are required to read a script meant to discourage women from proceeding with the abortion: “The abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.” Until recently, doctors also had to tell a woman seeking an abortion that she had “an existing relationship with that unborn human being” that was protected under the Constitution and state law and that abortion poses a “known medical risk” and “increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide.”

The restrictions are so painful that the state hasn’t had any abortion providers — none at all — since 1994. Instead, a Planned Parenthood doctor is flown in once a week. The legislature has tried to ban abortion altogether twice but was stopped by voters by 12-point margins. Which makes me think that the state legislature’s insanity is somewhat out of step with the folks who live there.

I hereby nominate South Dakota as the worst place to be a woman in the United States.