What started in Arkansas in 2021 has made its way to South Dakota. It’s a bill that protects vulnerable children from transgender interventions, including both dangerous sex-change surgeries and experimental hormones. Its name: Help Not Harm, because hurting children deserve real help – not irreversible harm.

Yesterday, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signed her state’s Help Not Harm Act, making South Dakota the second state in the nation with a law of this kind. The bill holds healthcare professionals accountable by providing child victims an opportunity to sue for damages.

To celebrate this news, join us on Facebook or YouTube Live in just a few minutes!

WATCH on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube or by clicking the image below.
12:00pm PT / 1:30pm MT / 2:30pm CT / 3:30pm ET

Not on Facebook? Watch on YouTube or by clicking the image above!

Join us to hear from two people who worked on the front lines to make this bill into law. Rep. Bethany Soye (R-SD) and Norman Woods, Executive Director of Family Heritage Alliance, join Craig DeRoche to celebrate the victory of the Help Not Harm Act!

Here at Family Policy Alliance, we’ve been at work on this issue since 2017. And, while South Dakota is just the second state with a Help Not Harm law, there are many more states considering similar bills – that means more potential victories! Tune in today and follow us on social media (links below) to learn how you can get involved in your state!

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See you in the comments section,

Emma Rarden
Communications Specialist – Producer

 

P.S. Have you checked out our NEW podcast? Conversations with Craig, produced by Family Policy Alliance, is your go-to podcast for all things family policy. Craig DeRoche picks the brains of family policy experts to break down what’s happening now. With new episodes weekly, you’ll be up to date on all things that affect your family. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Google Podcasts.

The ground-breaking South Dakota bill that would protect kids from being physically victimized by the transgender agenda will be heard in the Senate on Monday.

Your voice is urgently needed!

All over the country – including South Dakota – kids are being encouraged to embrace the notion that they can change their sex, in part through drugs and surgeries.

Thankfully, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act would stop that, and it’s badly needed. Here’s why:

We must fight to protect our children from being pushed down a path that treats puberty like a disease and that causes profound and permanent changes to a child’s body.

Here’s what you can do:

  1. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hear this bill on Monday. You can send the members of that committee a message in 30 seconds, personalizing the message and subject line if you choose.
  2. Then, very importantly, please click here and using your zip code and/or address, get the name and contact info for your own state senator so you can reach out directly to him or her. This bill could be before all senators early in the week, so please reach out to them very soon.
  3. Please share this widely with other South Dakotans so they can quickly make their voice heard, too!

As Family Policy Alliance CEO Paul Weber told the Family Heritage Alliance crowd in Pierre on Thursday, we must engage in biblical citizenship to restore the foundations of our state and nation.

Thanks for speaking up and spreading the word!

The Family Policy Alliance Team

SD Abortion Ban Graphic

South Dakota passed its Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to take a stand on this important life issue.

South Dakota passed its Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, becoming the 16th state in the nation to take a stand on this important life issue.

South Dakota joins 15 other states including Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Arizona in limiting abortions after 5 months. Family Heritage Alliance, one of CitizenLink’s nearly 40 state-based family policy councils worked hard to get the bill passed.

“We believe that all abortions deny a human his or her right to life,” said Dale Bartscher with Family Heritage Alliance. “The Legislature and Governor Daugaard’s enactment of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is clearly a step in the direction of advancing the culture of life in our state and our country.”

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard abandons a common sense approach to the issue at hand.

Colorado Springs, CO, March 2, 2016–South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a bill that would have protected children from predators and provided accommodations for students who are not comfortable using the bathroom or locker room facilities that correspond with their biological sex. HB 1008 was passed by both the House and Senate and said that students should be required to use the bathroom and changing rooms that correspond to their sex at birth, a common sense approach to the issue at hand.

“We sincerely believe that the Governor missed an opportunity,” said Dale Bartscher, president of Family Heritage Alliance, “to get out in front of this issue and help accommodate both sides in a peaceful and respectful manner.”

CitizenLink and its alliance with nearly 40 state-based policy groups, including Family Heritage Alliance, worked to activate South Dakotans to contact the Governor and encourage him to sign the bill into law. Despite the disappointing outcome, we will continue to stand for families across the nation.

“No child should be forced to share a bathroom or locker room with someone of the opposite sex while at school,” said CitizenLink President and CEO Paul Weber. “We will continue to work, along with our state-based policy groups, to promote laws that protect the institution of the family and provide safety for our children.”

CitizenLink is a public policy partner of Focus on the Family. Our mission is to see a nation where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished.