S.C. state lawmaker wants voters to decide on abortion

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A South Carolina House member has prefiled a bill in the General Assembly to put abortion rights on the ballot.

Rep. Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston) posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his bill would order a statewide vote on “the reproductive rights and freedom” of the women of South Carolina.

MORE | S.C. state senator pushes to get Narcan on college campuses

“The people of South Carolina, not Columbia politicians, deserve to decide this issue for themselves just like we have seen occur in other states,” he said in his post.

Bill, H.4718, co-filed by Rep. Spencer Wetmore (D-Charleston) proposes an amendment to create “a consitutional right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including the right to an abortion, with exceptions, and for other purposes.”

Stavrinakis’ announcement comes three months after the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state’s so-called Fetal Heartbeat Law, which tightened restrictions on abortion.

The Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act generally prohibits an abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat rather than after a specified period of weeks. It provides limited exceptions allowing for abortion in the event of a risk to the helath of the mother, fatal fetal anomalies, rape or incest.