Lawsuit Challenges South Dakota’s New Abortion Pill Ban

South Dakota House Bill 127 aims to stop the shipment and marketing of abortion medications and instruments into the state by targeting mail orders and out-of-state distribution.

Juliette Fairley

Published: 6/5/2026, 2:55:21 AM EDT

Lawsuit Challenges South Dakota’s New Abortion Pill Ban — A woman prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on Oct. 12, 2022. (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)

A reproductive health nonprofit and a former magistrate judge have together sued South Dakota state officials, alleging that a new law regulating abortion pills is unconstitutional.

Mayday Health and Nancy Turbak Berry are seeking declaratory relief as well as a preliminary and permanent injunction to block House Bill 1274, which they argue unconstitutionally criminalizes free speech and personal expression.

The lawsuit, Mayday Health and Nancy Turbak Berry v. Gov. Larry Rhoden and Attorney General Marty Jackley, was filed on May 29 in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.

“It is unconstitutional and violates the Communications Decency Act as applied to Mayday Health; second, it is unconstitutional as applied to Nancy Turbak Berry; and third, its 'advertise' prohibition is unconstitutional on its face,” the complaint states.

South Dakota House Bill 1274, signed into law by Gov. Larry Rhoden on March 20, aims to stop the shipment and marketing of abortion medications and instruments into the state by targeting mail orders and out-of-state distribution.

South Dakota’s law on abortion is a near-total ban.

The case stems from Mayday Health posting gas station pump signs in December 2025 that read, "Pregnant? Don't want to be? Learn More at Mayday Health,” which led Jackley to issue a cease-and-desist.

Parallel federal and state lawsuits were filed that were eventually settled.

However, in their May 29 complaint, the plaintiffs allege that the legislative proceedings that led to the enactment of House Bill 1274 target Mayday.

“When Governor Rhoden signed House Bill 1274, he issued a press release explicitly referring to the Mayday litigation, and accusing Mayday of engaging in illegal conduct,” the complaint states.

Neither Rhoden nor Jackley responded to requests for comment on the case by the time of publication.

In the complaint, there is a photograph of Turbak wearing a Mayday sweatshirt that also states, ‘Pregnant? Don't want to be? Learn More at Mayday.Health.’

“Unless this court grants relief, Turbak will be deterred from wearing the sweatshirt, and thereby deterred from engaging in lawsuit First Amendment-protected speech,” the complaint further stated.

At the time House Bill 1274 was enacted, Rhoden said in a March 20 press release that South Dakota is the most pro-life state in America.

“Our laws reflect the fact that an unborn child is a person—and that child is worthy of our protection and respect,” Rhoden said. “By stopping illegal abortion pills from coming into South Dakota, we continue to stand for life and protect the next generation of South Dakotans.”