Sioux Falls Health Center, a Planned Parenthood clinic in South Dakota, announced it was pausing what it called “abortion care.” The center was the last active abortion provider in the state.

Planned Parenthood South Dakota Advocate, an advocacy group, tweeted:

Planned Parenthood activists obviously have a different definition of “in good faith” than The Daily Citizen.

The center said it would remain open to provide other services, such as “birth control, IUDs, family planning, transgender hormone therapy, and other sexual and reproductive health care needs.”

While it will no longer kill babies in the womb, the Sioux Falls clinic has found a way to harm other people by offering body- and mind-damaging opposite-sex hormones to those suffering from sexual-identity confusion.

As The New York Times reported, “Abortions at the clinic were already sporadic. A Minnesota doctor flew in around once a month to provide them.”

Abortion is no longer available in Oklahoma, as well. In May 2022, as we previously reported, the state began protecting preborn life from the moment of conception.

Clinics in the state had been effectively shut down since the Oklahoma heartbeat law went into effect earlier that month.

The Times reported on others where abortion is becoming less accessible, saying that the only clinic in Missouri is booked and not accepting new appointments. In Wisconsin, clinics are scheduling abortions but “have made contingency plans if Roe v. Wade is overturned.”

Abortion clinics are responding to the leak of a draft opinion, authored by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that overturns Roe v. Wade while upholding Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.

The draft says:

Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.

The Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey created a “constitutional right” to abortion and took decisions about abortion laws away from elected representatives in each state. If Dobbs overturns those rulings, states will once again be able to make their own laws regulating abortion.

Many other states stand ready to protect pre-born life if Roe is struck down.

Family Research Council (FRC) has created an interactive map that outlines pro-life laws in each state, breaking down the policy differences.

It lists states that will protect preborn life at conception; when the heartbeat is detected – usually between 5 and 6 weeks; based on gestational age – often when the child can feel pain; or when the child is “viable,” capable of surviving outside the womb with medical assistance.

The list also identifies states that will not protect life under current law.

The various responses to overturning Roe and Casey illustrate why it’s so important for Christians to be involved in culture and policy issues, influencing elected officials to support life.

Focus on the Family has state allies that help promote life, working to pass legislation to protect children in the womb. Contact your state Family Policy Council to see how you can support life.

Related articles and resources:

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