HB 1257 South Dakota House · 2026 Regular Session

amend the definition of an abortion.

HB 1257 redefines "abortion" in South Dakota law to include any action intending to terminate a pregnancy with knowledge it will likely cause the unborn child's death, while excluding specific medical treatments (like miscarriage care, ectopic pregnancy treatment, or procedures to save the unborn child's life). It requires physicians to determine that a pregnancy poses a "reasonably foreseeable risk of death" to the mother before permitting an abortion, mandates attempts to preserve both lives when possible, and mandates hospital-based reporting to the Department of Health. The bill directly affects pregnant individuals, physicians, and hospitals by setting strict medical criteria for legal abortions and prohibiting abortions based solely on psychological conditions or self-harm fears. It does not criminalize all abortions but creates a narrow exception for life-threatening conditions, with violations classified as Class 6 felonies.

Issues: ✗ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Feb 25, 2026 Signed Mar 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House State Affairs Engrossed → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 4, 2026

MODERATE

This bill enrolls House Bill 1257, which amends South Dakota abortion laws by updating definitions to clarify when an abortion is defined as terminating a human life in the uterus. The enrolled version includes formal certification signatures from the House and Senate leadership, the Governor, and the Secretary of State, confirming the bill has passed all legislative stages and is now law.

TECHNICAL

Added formal enrollment signatures and certification language from the House, Senate, Governor, and Secretary of State to confirm the bill has completed the legislative process.

Removed browser compatibility warnings and technical notices that were present in the earlier draft version but are not part of the final enrolled legislation.

DEFINITION

Amended the definition of 'abortion' to specify it means intentional termination of a human being in the uterus, with specific exceptions for accidental death, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, removal of deceased children, and procedures to save the unborn child's life.

Added new definitions for 'abortion facility,' 'department,' 'fertilization,' 'human being,' 'medical emergency,' 'miscarriage,' 'parent,' 'physician,' and 'probable gestational age' to clarify legal terms used in abortion-related statutes.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2026 · House Feb 24, 2026

How they voted

31–2

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 35

Mar 3, 2026

D Democratic3

2 Nay 1

66% Nay

R Republican32

31 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 30, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-30 H.J. 579

executive

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President S.J. 486

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the Speaker H.J. 516

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 31, NAYS 2 S.J. 447

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (31-2-2)

senate

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 8, NAYS 1 S.J. 37

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Introduced

First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 398

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

House of Representatives Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 60, NAYS 6 H.J. 426

lower

Feb 24, 2026

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (60-6-4)

house

Feb 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

State Affairs Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 10, NAYS 2

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

State Affairs Motion to amend , Passed, Amendment 1257D

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Referred to House State Affairs H.J. 294

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Prime Sponsor Changed at the Request of the Prime Sponsor , Passed, H.J. 246

lower

5 primary · 0 co-sponsors