South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem declined to say whether she believes laws restricting abortion should include exceptions for victims of rape or incest, after she was repeatedly asked about her views during a CNN interview Sunday.
“I think that every state is going to look different,” Noem said, when asked for her personal views on exceptions on “State of the Union.”
“We rely in South Dakota on the fact that I’m pro-life and we have a law that says that there’s an exception for the life of the mother, and I just don’t believe a tragedy should perpetuate another tragedy,” Noem said.
A “trigger law” passed years ago that went into effect in South Dakota after Roe v. Wade was overturned completely outlaws abortions with the exception if the mother’s life is in danger — and with no exceptions for rape or incest.
But Noem, now eyed as a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, distanced herself from the law Sunday, noting it was passed “decades before I became governor.” She previously called Trump’s recent stance — that abortion laws should be left up to state governments — “exactly right.”
When pressed by host Dana Bash, Noem declined to share her opinion about what specifically she believed the law in her state should look like, saying her duty is to “make sure the will of the people is enforced.”
“I can have an opinion. … I can look at the science and what we’ve learned about babies in the womb and believe that we should protect life, but I think that our law today is what South Dakota wants and they’ll continue to have that debate and I’ll continue to follow through on my role, which is to make sure the will of the people people is enforced,” she said.
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