March 9, 2026
“Gov. Larry Rhoden has the chance to protect preborn babies and their mothers by signing the ‘Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act,’ designed to go after illegal pill pushers distributing death-by-mail,” said Students for Life’s Kristan Hawkins. “Abusers love the easy access to Chemical Abortion Pills. With this bill, South Dakota sends a strong message to all trying to subvert the law to end life; The Mount Rushmore State won’t ignore the new abortion cartel.”
Contact [email protected] for an interview.
PIERRE, S.D. (03-09-2026) – Students for Life Action (SFLAction) President Kristan Hawkins celebrated the passage of the SFLAction-inspired “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” (HB1274) in the South Dakota Senate, advancing by a vote of 31-2. The bill, introduced by Rep. John Hughes (R) and Sen. Greg Blanc (R), has now passed both chambers and heads to Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk for signature. If signed into law, South Dakota would become the first state this year to pass an “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act,” part of SFLAction’s push to end the nation’s most common method of abortion today.
South Dakota’s pro-life laws embrace both mother and child, protecting life completely, with a provision for abortion if a mother’s life is in danger. Pro-life doctors and medical professionals have been very clear that an abortion designed to end a baby’s life would not be employed for that purpose, though in maternal-fetal separation, the baby may not live after delivery in an attempt to save both lives. LEARN MORE HERE.
ON INSTAGRAM: Hear Kristan Hawkins talk about abortion & life of the mother cases.
“Chemical Abortion Pill pushers have been clear that their intent is to violate laws like those in South Dakota, and they target prolife states. By signing this bill, Gov. Rhoden can defend the lives of babies in the womb and his pro-life state law,” said Hawkins. “South Dakota has been innovative in going after those pushing Chemical Abortion Pills. This effort will also support the efforts of Attorney General Marty Jackley who has taken legal steps to stop Mayday Health from advertising the illegal pills in the state.”
Hundreds of thousands of children are killed and up to 1 in 8 mothers are seriously injured via Chemical Abortion Pills each year. The deadly pills are used to commit more than 60% of abortions. Pro-life states like South Dakota are being openly targeted by Chemical Abortion Pill vendors, as evidenced by the lawsuit mentioned above.
The South Dakota legislature’s passage of the “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” aligns with what voters want.
According to a January 2026 Students for Life’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement poll conducted and released by Survey USA, half of the Youth Vote support protecting women from abuse with in-person dispensing requirements for Chemical Abortion Pills, with only 27% against. More than 9 in 10 support reinstating health and safety standards that have been stripped away from Chemical Abortion Pills, leaving women at risk for infertility, injury, death, and abuse by those who dose women with the deadly pills without their consent.
And according to a February Cygnal poll, Republican voters want action on pro-life legislation, too, with 32% stating they are less likely to vote in the upcoming midterms if they feel the GOP is not addressing abortion.
Here is what the “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” would do in South Dakota:
- Prohibit mailing, shipping, or prescribing Chemical Abortion Pills.
- Classify committing or attempting to commit an abortion using Chemical Abortion Pills as a felony punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, or a fine of up to $10,000 per dose, on abortion vendors committing or attempting to commit an abortion using Chemical Abortion on a mother.
- Reinforce state sovereignty over medical regulation.
- Provide remedies including injunctive relief of $10,000 in damages per violation and recovery of court costs and attorney’s fees. Exclude convicted abusers, traffickers, and rapists from bringing such civil actions.
- Allow civil actions to be filed up to three years after the cause of action or one year after any legal stay is lifted.
SFLAction is encouraging South Dakotans to join us in calling on Governor Larry Rhoden to sign the “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” into law to protect the preborn children and women of South Dakota.
SFLAction’s push to get the “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” introduced and passed is part of our larger Make America Pro-Life Again Roadmap. Launched last November, this legislative package built upon the Gonzales v. Carhart case will help take down abortion at the state and federal level.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STUDENTS FOR LIFE ACTION’S “MAKE AMERICA PRO-LIFE AGAIN ROADMAP,” CLICK HERE.
SFLAction has been extremely active in legislative sessions throughout the past several years, educating voters and engaging lawmakers. During the Spring 2025 legislative session in states across America, SFLAction:
- Tracked and monitored over 1,100 abortion-related bills
- Drove efforts on 25 pro-life and pro-abortion bills across 16 states
- Introduced 20 SFLAction-inspired bills
- Testified in committees in five states: Arkansas, Maine, Montana, Texas, and West Virginia
- Visited offices of more than 100 state AND federal lawmakers
- Equipped more than 6,000 student leaders to visit more than 100,000 homes in 27 states and urge voters to tell their lawmakers to support pro-life legislation
- Engaged with hundreds of millions of constituents around the country
- Sent over 2,300,000+ personal text messages in support of pro-life bills
- Made 750,000+ phone calls to pro-life constituents
- Generated 20,000+ emails and 750,000+ calls from pro-life constituents to their legislators
- Sent 150,000+ mailers in seven states
For interviews, contact [email protected].
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The Pro-Life Generation (PLG) is an umbrella organization encompassing the most-cutting edge engagement opportunities for a Vote Pro-Life First Community. PLG includes Students for Life Action (SFLAction), a 501c4, along with its 501c3 sister organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA), that together make up the nation’s largest, pro-life youth organization, managing a grassroots political and policy operation engaging Americans of all ages but with a special emphasis on the largest segment of voters — the Youth Vote. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, PLG/SFLA/SFLAction serves more than 1,400 groups on middle, high school, college, medical, and law school campuses in all 50 states. Our team has more conversations with this generation targeted by the abortion lobby than any other pro-life operation in the world, each week reaching more than 4 million across social media platforms and averaging 1.3 million video views. In addition to SFLA/SFLAction, PLG leads multiple initiatives to lead and serve the future of the pro-life movement including the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities, Standing With You, and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement . Over more than 17 years, PLG CEO Kristan Hawkins has grown the operation into a nearly $20M organization, now preparing for an abortion-free America.