South Dakota governor and potential Trump vice-president pick Kristi Noem suggested on Sunday that victims of rape or incest should be forced to give birth.
In an interview on CNN’s ‘State of the Union‘ Noem refused to say whether she believes anti-abortion should include exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
A “trigger law” went into effect in South Dakota after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The law bans abortions in all cases except to save rhe life of the mother.
Pressed on whether the law should include exceptions for rape and incest, Noem declined to answer, saying instead that her duty is to “make sure the will of the people is enforced.”
“I’ve constantly looked, and we rely in South Dakota on the fact that I’m pro-life and we have a law that says that there is an exception for the life of the mother. And I just don’t believe a tragedy should perpetuate another tragedy,” Noem said.
“I can have an opinion,” Noem added. “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.”
