Stricter abortion ban under consideration at S.C. State House
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - South Carolina already enforces a more restrictive abortion ban than most states.
But some Republican lawmakers are pushing for it to be even stricter by banning just about all abortions from conception.
For the first time in more than a year, abortion was up for discussion at the State House on Tuesday, drawing hundreds for a hearing before a House Judiciary subcommittee.
Dozens came before lawmakers, with the line for those wishing to testify snaking outside the House building, hoping to speak on a bill that would enact some of the most restrictive abortion measures in the country in South Carolina.
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South Carolina’s existing law, the “Fetal Heartbeat Law,” bans most abortions after around six weeks into a pregnancy — though when exactly in a pregnancy the procedure becomes illegal is currently under court review.
The law allows for exceptions to save the mother’s life, for victims of rape and incest through 12 weeks into the pregnancy, and in pregnancies involving fatal fetal anomalies.
This new bill, the “Human Life Protection Act,” would ban all abortions from conception and only allow them to save the mother’s life, eliminating the current exceptions for rape and incest victims and fatal fetal anomalies.
The overwhelming majority of the 40 people who testified Tuesday spoke against the bill.
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medical evidence and personal choice,” Lorraine Woodward, a Summerton resident, said.
A few people spoke in favor of the bill, mostly for religious and moral reasons, but some abortion opponents argued it does not go far enough.
While doctors who illegally perform abortions could face prison time, as they can under the existing law, women who undergo abortions would not be criminalized under the new proposal, as they cannot be now.
“Abortion is murder. Everyone knows it, and it should be prosecuted as such,” said Mark Corral, a pastor from Rock Hill and president of the anti-abortion group Equal Protection South Carolina.
This bill has more than three dozen Republican sponsors in the House of Representatives, including some of the chamber’s top leaders.
But at least one of them, Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R – Pickens, believes they should pump the brakes on the bill for now, with South Carolina’s highest court reviewing on ongoing challenge to the current law concerning the point in a pregnancy when abortions are outlawed.
“While my steadfast pro-life view is unwavering, and while the vast majority of of our Republican Caucus share this same commitment, I believe we should consider the importance of waiting for any guidance that may be forthcoming from the Supreme Court,” Hiott said in a statement released Tuesday morning, as the hearing was happening.
The House subcommittee only heard testimony on the bill Tuesday without voting on advancing it.
Whether that happens — as well as whether this bill has enough to in the Senate, where similar restrictions have died in recent years — is unclear at this point.
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