Judge says state did not prove law meets strict scrutiny
The preliminary injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler blocks South Dakota from enforcing its recently enacted law against New York-based Mayday Health and plaintiff Nancy Turbak Berry. The judge said the nonprofit was likely to win the case and that the state did not attempt to prove the law met strict scrutiny — that it served a compelling government interest and was narrowly tailored.
The law, signed in March by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, prohibits the distribution and advertisement of unlawful abortion services, such as abortion pills, in South Dakota. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in May against Rhoden and state Attorney General Marty Jackley, arguing the ban violates freedom of speech. Theeler’s ruling does not strike down the law itself but blocks its enforcement against the named parties while the case proceeds.
Jim Leach, the attorney representing Mayday Health, said the ruling affirms that the state cannot ban information about abortion. “Information should not be banned,” Leach said. “And the state wants to ban information about abortion. This ruling says the state cannot ban information about abortion, no matter what you think about abortion or anything else.”