SD Panel Kills “Intellegent Design” Bill

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A measure that would have allowed South Dakota teachers to discuss intelligent design has been killed at the request of its sponsor.

The Senate Education Committee on Thursday scrapped the measure, which dealt with the belief that a higher power must have had a hand in creation because life is too complex to have developed through evolution alone.

The measure's main sponsor, Sen. Jeff Monroe of Pierre, says he had to scrap the bill because it was poorly written. He says he believes there's a better way to deal with the issue sometime in the future.

Also at Monroe's request, the committee killed another bill that would have allowed a teacher to provide instruction on what the bill termed "personhood before birth."