The right of women in the United States to have abortions is being challenged in the state of South Dakota.
Governor Michael Rounds has signed a law that bans almost all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest.
The only exception is if a pregnant woman's life is at risk.
The law provides for criminal charges against doctors who perform abortion and prohibits the sale of emergency contraception.
Planned Parenthood, which operates the sole abortion clinic in South Dakota where about 800 of the procedures are performed each year, said it would challenge the new law.
It is likely that such a legal challenge could take years and in the meantime the state's existing laws will remain in effect.
Supporters of the bill hope the case could eventually go to the Supreme Court and overturn the landmark 'Roe vs Wade' ruling of 1973, which guaranteed US abortion rights.
If the 1973 decision is overturned, it is thought that 15 other US states may start enforcing laws already on their books that make abortion a crime, even in the first weeks of pregnancy.
US President George W Bush, who is an opponent of abortion, last week signalled his own opposition to the South Dakota law, saying it went too far because it made no exceptions for rape and incest.
