Noem on child rape victims getting abortions: ‘A tragic situation should not perpetuate another’

Estimated read time 7 min read


Kristi Noem said Sunday that she won’t let ‘the tragedy’ of children getting pregnant through rape lead to another tragedy in her state by allowing cases like these to lead to abortion.

‘Every single life is precious,’ the GOP South Dakota governor told CNN’s Dana Bash when asked if a ‘child’ should have to give birth. ‘This tragedy is horrific. I can’t even imagine.’

‘I don’t believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy,’ Noem added.

‘And so there’s more that we have got to do to make sure that we really are living a life that says every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been shattered, like that 10-year-old girl,’ she said during her interview on State of the Union Sunday morning.

The response came after trigger laws went into effect in 13 states following the Roe v. Wade overturn and a heartbreaking case of a 10-year-old girl in Ohio needing to travel over state lines to terminate her pregnancy after she was raped.

South Dakota is one of the states with these so-called trigger laws.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said Sunday that she would not let 'a tragic situation perpetuate another tragedy' by letting a 10-year-old who got pregnant by rape get an abortion

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said Sunday that she would not let ‘a tragic situation perpetuate another tragedy’ by letting a 10-year-old who got pregnant by rape get an abortion

GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who served with Noem in the House, said that she is not the same person that she was pre-Trump endorsement.

‘I served with Kristi Noem in the House, and it’s like ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers,’ he told Bash in his own interview Sunday morning.

‘This is not the Kristi Noem I served with,’ he added. ‘The Kristi Noem I served with was conservative, dedicated to truth, and I at the time would have thought would have put her country above her political career at any moment.’

‘Look, Dana, it is clear she is running for president or vice president,’ he added. ‘She’s scared to death of the base… She used to be something very different.’

Noem is a pro-Trump Republican and claimed Sunday that the issue of this particular case needs to be focusing on the criminal who raped a 10-year-old girl.

In South Dakota there is an exception for their abortion ban for when the life of the mother is in danger if she carries out her pregnancy. CNN host Dana Bashed asked if allowing a young child to receive an abortion would be protecting her life considering the physical and and mental consequences giving birth could cause.

She conceded on this point and lauded how different states could have different laws.

‘Yes, that situation, the doctor, the family, the individuals closest to that will make the decisions there for that family,’ Noem told Bash. ‘That’s what’s interesting about the time we live in right now, is every state will have different laws on the books.’

‘The decisions will be made by the legislators that are closest to the people,’ she added. ‘That’s appropriate. It’s the way our Constitution intended. And I think that South Dakota’s laws may look very different than California’s, may look very different than New York’s, where that governor has said she wants to become a destination known for providing abortions.’

Thirteen states passed trigger laws to restrict or ban abortion in the event Roe v. Wade was overturned

Thirteen states passed trigger laws to restrict or ban abortion in the event Roe v. Wade was overturned 

‘That’s not our story here in South Dakota. And I think every governor, every state will make a very different decision on what their laws look like.’

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last Friday, which immediately ended federal protections for abortion rights and sent the issue back to the states.

The almost 50-year-old law gave women nationwide the right to seek an abortion, but in recent years states have been pushing the limits by imposing more restrictions on timelines for terminating a pregnancy.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the case that ultimately made it to the Supreme Court and caused an overturn of the 1973 ruling after the conservative majority decided that Mississippi could pass and enforce a law banning abortion at 15 weeks – or the start of the second trimester.

‘Is it a state right, abortion? Or should it be a state right or not?’ Bash asked Noem in their Sunday morning interview.

‘It’s a decision that should be made at the state level, absolutely,’ she said in siding with the recent ruling.

Noem, however, wouldn’t rule out supporting a national ban on abortion.

A 10-year-old child abuse victim was forced to seek an abortion in Indiana after her home state of Ohio barred abortion following the Supreme Court decision to overturn of Roe v. Wade.

The child was six weeks and three days pregnant, which made her just days shy of being eligible for the procedure in her home state.

A child abuse doctor in Ohio sought the help of Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, on Monday to help the girl get an abortion after the state banned the procedure after six weeks – hours after the 6-3 Supreme Court vote.

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana OBGYN, received a call from a doctor in Ohio about a 10-year-old child abuse victim in need of an abortion

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana OBGYN, received a call from a doctor in Ohio about a 10-year-old child abuse victim in need of an abortion 

Abortion advocates in the state attempted to halt Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, but the effort was denied by a judge on Friday. 

As of Friday, Indiana’s only abortion restriction is a law requiring clinics to ask women if their abortion is coerced – which is illegal, Fox 59 reported.

The law went into effect on July 1 and more restrictions might pass in the state following The Indiana General Assembly hearing on July 25.

‘It’s hard to imagine that in just a few short weeks we will have no ability to provide that care,’ Bernard told The Columbus Dispatch.  

Until then, abortion providers in Indiana say they have noticed the impact of the overturn of Roe, claiming they have seen an increase of patients coming from out of state to receive the procedure, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The Women’s Med, an Indiana abortion clinic that also has a center in Ohio, has received patients in need of an operation from their Ohio clinic.

Dr. Katie McHugh, an OBGYN in Indiana, has witnessed ‘an insane amount of requests’ from women in Ohio and Kentucky seeking an abortion.

McHugh said she receives between five to eight patients per day that come from out of state with some clinics assisting about 20 women per day.  

All around the country, protesters filled the streets in opposition to the Supreme Court. Some protesters demonstrated outside the state capitals where abortions was banned effective immediately

All around the country, protesters filled the streets in opposition to the Supreme Court. Some protesters demonstrated outside the state capitals where abortions was banned effective immediately 

In Kentucky, abortion centers were forced to close down after the Roe ruling when the state’s ‘trigger law’ went into effect. 

The overturn of Roe v. Wade allowed for states to decide on whether to implement restrictions or bans on the procedure.

Kentucky was one of twelve states – along with Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming – to pass trigger laws that would outlaw abortion in the instance Roe was overturned. 

However, a Kentucky judge on Thursday granted a temporary restraining order on Thursday to prohibit the state from enforcing the ban on abortion. 

Other state including Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Georgia, Iowa, and South Carolina, and Florida are also attempting to impose new bans and restrictions. 

Following the overturn of the 1973 right to abortion, advocates scattered to state courts to stop restrictions on abortions that are planned to take effect in 22 states.

Abortion clinics in Ohio, Idaho, West Virginia and Mississippi are also seeking temporary halts to state implemented bans.



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