A day after the South Dakota Legislature adopted the toughest abortion regulations in the nation, the State Senate failed to approve a bill that would have placed much tougher informational requirements on abortion doctors in the state.

The measure failed 15-17.

HB1198 would have required doctors who perform abortions to screen women for individual risk factors, said Sen. Brock Greenfield (R-Clark), who is executive director of South Dakota Right to Life. It would place no additional burden on women considering abortions, but they would get more information before making those decisions, he told AP.

“It would simply require a qualified person to identify risk factors and the associated complications and advise the woman accordingly. Without adequate screening for risk factors, it is virtually impossible for abortion providers to give accurate information to the woman about the risk for complications she is going to incur,” Greenfield said.

Urging defeat of the measure, Sen. Dave Knudson (R-Sioux Falls), said it contained onerous provisions that are designed to make compliance impossible.

Existing laws already provide recourse for people who feel their doctors have been negligent, he said.

Knudson said the system must be working because hundreds of medical malpractice lawsuits are filed each year in South Dakota.

“We’ve got a perfectly functioning medical malpractice system,” he said. “Informed consent on procedures more complicated and more dangerous than an abortion are at issue in those.”

HB1198 has more to do with the ongoing battle between abortion opponents and those who favor allowing women to decide if they want abortions, Knudson said.

“When is enough enough?” he asked.

Senate Republican Leader Eric Bogue (R-Faith) said the bill should be defeated because it was killed twice in the House. It was a violation of the legislative process for a House member to later persuade a Senate committee to revive the measure, he said.

Rep. Roger Hunt (R-Brandon) although not named by Bogue, was that House member. Hunt, a staunch abortion foe, is sponsor of another bill that would ban nearly all abortions in South Dakota.

A final legislative vote on that measure was expected Friday.