A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against a South Dakota rule that would make the state one of the hardest places in the U.S. to get abortion pills.
U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier issued the injunction late Tuesday against a rule pushed by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem that would have required abortion-seekers to make three separate visits to a doctor to take abortion pills. Schreier previously issued a temporary restraining order last month to keep the state from implementing the rule.
Women in South Dakota can currently get both drugs in the two-dose medication-induced abortion regimen during a single visit and take the second dose at home.
Schreier, who was appointed under former President Bill Clinton, granted Planned Parenthood’s request for the injunction, writing that the rule “likely imposes an undue burden on Planned Parenthood and its patients’ right to seek an abortion.”
