Governor of South Dakota says GOP counterparts should “do more” on abortion restrictions

South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem appeared on CBS News this week where she revealed that she would like to see her GOP counterparts “do more” to restrict access to abortion.

A potential 2024 presidential hopeful, Noem told CBS on Tuesday that she would push her Republican gubernatorial counterparts to crack down harder on abortion access in their states in the same fashion as South Dakota. The state’s trigger law went into effect last year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, banning abortions completely unless the mother’s life is in danger, and allowing no exceptions for cases of rape or incest that resulted in an unwanted pregnancy.

Noem specifically mentioned her possible GOP rival for the 2024 nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Asked if she would move to “nudge” DeSantis, who is widely polling as former president Donald Trump’s most likely competition for the GOP nomination, to push for stricter abortion laws, Noem responded, “I would nudge every governor to do what they can to back up their pro-life record. I think that talking about situations and making statements is incredibly important, but also taking action and governing and bringing policies that protect life are even more important because that’s what truly will save lives.” Florida currently has a 15-week abortion ban in place.

Noem has said that while she supports stronger abortion restrictions nationwide, she believes South Dakota’s current set of laws on the hot button issue are a good framework for other governors to mirror. “There’ll always be, during legislative session, other proposals that may come forward. But right now, I think that where our trigger law stands is what the people of this state support and want to see be in place,” said Noem.