Pregnant South Dakota Women to be Informed of 'Existing Relationship' with Baby

According to Baptist Press, a pregnant woman considering abortion in South Dakota must be informed she "has an existing relationship with that unborn human being," a federal appeals court has ruled. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, Mo., overturned a federal judge's decision that had struck down the "relationship advisories" section of South Dakota's 2005 informed consent law. The law's supporters, however, fell short of a complete victory in the opinion by the three-judge panel. In a 2-1 split decision, the judges upheld the lower court's invalidation of a section requiring women to be informed of the risk of suicide from abortion. The dissenting judge said he would have upheld the entire law, including that requirement. The Eighth Circuit's Sept. 2 ruling in support of a state's right to inform a woman she has a relationship with the child living in her womb was a victory for pro-life advocates not only in providing full information for pregnant women but in establishing protection for unborn children. South Dakota pro-life leader Leslee Unruh praised the decision. "I can't remember a day being this happy in the 27 years of doing this work," she said.