Noem, noting that abortion is illegal in South Dakota except to save the life of the mother, said the 10-year-old’s “tragic situation” should not be “perpetuated by another tragedy.” South Dakota is among a handful of states that immediately enacted enabling laws banning abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision last month overturned the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade. The exchange between Noem and CNN’s Dana Bash began when the cable anchor asked the governor about a report in the Indianapolis Star on Saturday. The agency said a 10-year-old girl in Ohio who is six weeks and three days pregnant must travel to Indiana for an abortion because she cannot get an abortion in Ohio, where the procedure is illegal after six weeks. Indiana’s abortion ban has yet to go into effect. “Because [there also is a] activation law [in South Dakota] that was passed before you became governor, I wanted you to be clear: Is the state of South Dakota going to force a 10-year-old child in the exact same situation to have a baby in the future?” Bash asked Noem. The Republican pol responded: “You know what I think is incredible, Dana, about this tragic story? South Dakota Gov. Christy Noem doubled down on her state’s anti-abortion laws on Sunday. CNN “What’s unbelievable is that no one is talking about the twisted, horrible, deranged person who raped a 10-year-old,” Noem said. “What do we do about the people who do this to these children?” Bash said she agreed with Noem’s comments about the rapist, but added: “Our bodies are our bodies and women are the ones who get pregnant. “And, in this case, it wasn’t a woman. It was a girl,” Bash said. The exchange between Noem and CNN’s Dana Bash began when the cable anchor asked the governor about a report in the Indianapolis Star on Saturday. CNN Noem said: “He is a child. He is a child.” Bass asked if the girl should have a “boy”. Noem replied: “Every single life – every life is precious. A report said a 10-year-old Ohio girl who is six weeks and three days pregnant must travel to Indiana for an abortion because she cannot have one in Ohio.REUTERS/Megan Jelinger “This tragedy is horrific. I can’t even imagine. I’ve never had anyone in my family or myself go through anything like that.” After several minutes of discussion about the South Dakota law, Bash asked Noem if she would work to include an exception to reflect the 10-year-old’s case. “In South Dakota, the law today is that abortions are illegal except to save the life of the mother,” Noem said. Bass pressed, “And you’d be okay with that, a 10-year-old girl having to have a baby?” Noem said the story would “keep me up at night” and it breaks her heart as a mother and grandmother. “What I would say is that I don’t believe that a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy. And so we need to do more to make sure that we really live a life that says every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been destroyed, like this 10-year-old girl,” Noem said. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, saying states should be the ones to decide whether to limit or ban the procedure.
