South Dakota Abortion Counseling Requirement Remains Blocked

A South Dakota law mandating that women seeking abortions consult with anti-abortion pregnancy help centers before having a procedure is likely unconstitutional and will therefore stay blocked, a federal court said.

The consultation law likely violates a woman’s First Amendment free speech rights by compelling her to “disclose deeply personal information about her pregnancy to the pregnancy help center,” the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota said.

The court denied a motion by pregnancy help centers to dissolve an injunction against the consultation requirement that’s been in place since 2011. The centers joined the suit to help ...