News/Commentary

Kristi Noem vows immediate action if Roe v Wade leak is true

May 3, 2022 | | Print Article

(Video: Fox News)

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) reaction to the SCOTUS leak encapsulated her broader objective to further enforce the Tenth Amendment protections of the Bill of Rights, as she promised, if reports prove true, a special legislative session would follow an overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Late Monday, it was reported that Politico had leaked a draft of a majority opinion from Justice Samuel Alito pertaining to the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Should the alleged draft end up being the final determination from SCOTUS, it would mean the reversal of the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, and states would retain sovereignty in determining laws regarding abortion.

While Democrats reacted to the indeterminate report with calls for immediate action that would essentially alter the balance between the equal branches of government and further erode these American institutions, Noem remained tempered in her optimism and grounded firmly in the Constitution.

“If this report is true and Roe v. Wade is overturned,” she wrote Monday night, “I will immediately call for a special session to save lives and guarantee that every unborn child has a right to life in South Dakota.”

Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections where she hopes to be reelected as governor, Noem told Fox News Digital, “I think Republicans and Conservatives need to focus on where we’re going. What’s our vision for the future? We all know that Joe Biden is a terrible president. We all know that he’s wrecking this country and that we’re against 99.9 percent of what he’s doing to destroy our freedoms.”

That said, she expressed that the Republican platform should be one of optimism, saying, “We should be running on the Constitution. We should be running on a limited government, remembering that the power is with the people.”

While other states have taken actions preceding a confirmed decision from SCOTUS on the Dobbs case to codify laws on abortion for and against, Noem has experienced a give and take with her state’s legislative body. However, this does not mean that she has sat idly by while states like Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma worked to limit abortions.

An effort in January to effectively outlaw abortions in line with the Texas ban was kiboshed when it was believed it would interfere with an active legal challenge from Planned Parenthood, the Associated Press reported. “They’re not listening to national leaders in the pro-life movement on the momentum we have in front of the Supreme Court and what this legislation means to South Dakota,” Noem said at the time and added, in her opinion, it did not take, “any credibility away from the case in front of the Supreme Court.”

South Dakota also joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his 24-state amicus brief filed in support of Dobbs with Attorney General Jason R. Ravnsborg included in the submission. Paxton tweeted out his own hopes that the leaked opinion would prove to be in line with the final decision.

“I hope,” he wrote, “that #SCOTUS returns the question of abortion where it belongs: the States. This is why I led a 24-state coalition in support MS’s law banning them after 15 wks. I’ll con’t to ensure that TX protects the unborn & pray for the end of abortion across our nation. #ProLife.”

Kevin Haggerty
Latest posts by Kevin Haggerty (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles