Thune Stays Away From 'License to Kill' SD Abortion Bill

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is keeping quiet about an abortion bill that has been introduced in the South Dakota Legislature. Abortion rights groups say the bill could make it legal for a woman's family to harm her abortion doctor, Politico reports.

“Senator Thune has not reviewed this particular bill, and typically doesn’t get involved with or comment on state legislative issues,” Thune spokesman Kyle Downey told the news service in an e-mail.

Republican Rep. Phil Jensen's proposed bill would shield those who act "in the lawful defense of . . . his or her husband, wife, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant, or the unborn child of any such enumerated person" from legal penalties by making such actions "justifiable homicide."

But Democratic South Dakota Rep. Peggy Gibson decries the proposal as tantamount to a "license to kill" abortion providers. The language could allow people to claim self-defense for killing doctors or others who try to provide a woman with an abortion, Gibson contends.