South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a potential vice presidential pick for former President Trump, on Sunday said she did not think there should be exceptions in abortion regulation for rape and incest, defending her own state’s law.
Noem in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash said South Dakotans want the law they have, and noted that it does permit an exception for abortion to save the life of the mother.
Pressed by Bash on her own beliefs, Noem said she is “pro-life” and does not support exceptions for rape or incest.
“I just don’t believe a tragedy should perpetuate another tragedy,” Noem said. “I believe in taking care of mothers that are in a crisis situation and that we should be walking alongside them, giving them all the information and the best information they can make before they have to be put in a situation where an abortion is the only option that they have.”
South Dakota’s abortion ban is one of the strictest in the country. The law was a trigger ban that went into effect in 2022 shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had protected abortion rights nationwide.
Noem is one of several top Republican officials whom Trump is considering as potential running mates in his presidential campaign this year. She has said that she would accept being his running mate if he asked her “in a heartbeat.”
Trump mentioned Noem and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as potential candidates when asked in February about who he is considering.
Noem’s response comes in the aftermath of the Arizona Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that reinstated a 19th century-era law that bans abortion almost entirely without exceptions for rape and incest.
Trump, who has said that the issue of abortion should be left to the states, said that law goes “too far” and urged Arizona lawmakers to “remedy” it.
Noem told Bash that she agrees abortion should be a state issue.
