Kristi Noem dodges CNN questions on abortion exceptions and election certification

Gov. Kristi Noem appeared Sunday on CNN and declined to say whether she supports additional abortion-ban exceptions or whether she would have certified the results of the 2020 election.

The only exception in South Dakota’s abortion ban is for the “life of the pregnant female.” CNN “State of the Union” co-host Dana Bash asked if there should be exceptions for victims of rape and incest.

Noem did not give a definitive answer but said, “I just don’t believe a tragedy should perpetuate another tragedy,” and added that she will focus on “walking alongside” prospective mothers in crisis situations.

“I’ll continue to do that and love mothers and families through these situations,” she said.

Noem also said “every state’s going to look different,” echoing recent comments by former President Donald Trump, who is considering Noem as a running mate in the 2024 presidential race. Earlier this month, Trump declined to support a national abortion ban and said the issue should be left to the states.

Trump also said he supports exceptions to abortion bans in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.

On CNN, Noem said South Dakota’s abortion ban “was passed decades before I ever became governor.” In fact, lawmakers passed South Dakota’s trigger ban in 2005, 13 years before Noem became governor and two years before her time as a legislator. The ban immediately took effect in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a prior precedent establishing a constitutional right to an abortion.

Regarding the 2020 election, Bash asked Noem if she would have certified the results as then-Vice President Mike Pence did on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters violently attempted to stop the certification.

Noem gave a lengthy response but never answered the question.

“Talking in hypotheticals is not something that I do,” Noem said, in part. “I deal with the reality of what I’m dealing with today and every single day. And what I’m going to do from now until we get to November is continue to go across this country and talk to people about Donald Trump.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Noem dodges CNN questions on abortion exceptions, election certification