League Opposes No-Exceptions Abortion Ban
SCOTUS took right to make own reproductive choices, gave to state government – individual liberties lost says League
Columbia, SC - SC House Bill 5399, a “no exceptions” abortion bill, prohibits all pregnancy terminations in all circumstances. The League of Women Voters of South Carolina opposes this bill.
The League affirms the right of all people in our country to make their own reproductive choices. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) took the right for people to make their own decisions and gave it to state governments.
President Nancy William states,
We do not respond to H. 5399 and its planned no-exception prohibitions by begging for specific exceptions for those who are raped or victims of incest or even in danger of losing their lives.
We reject the corruption of our rights under both federal and state constitutions, the appalling damage threatened to the health and lives of those who are pregnant, and the destruction that will be brought to their families.
We reject the abdication of moral responsibility to women, to their families, to the poor, and to the vulnerable in our state.
We reject the imposition of theological mandates on those who do not share the beliefs of the religious denominations that have lobbied for these restrictions.
In testimony before a House legislative committee, Lynn Teague, Vice President of the League in South Carolina, reports,
Not only is the right to a safe and legal abortion a matter of personal freedom, it’s also a major factor in racial and economic equality.
Black women and other underserved communities already experience unfair barriers and limited access to adequate healthcare services. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation, 17.5 deaths per 100,000 births, according to World Population Review 2022.
South Carolina’s overall maternal mortality rate is even higher - 27.9 deaths per 100,000 births. A 2012 study published in Obstetrical Gynecology reported the risk of death in childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than that associated with abortion. In fact, data on prohibiting abortion estimates a 12% increase in Black maternal mortality in the first year and a 33% increase in subsequent years after a full ban."
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Sources cited:
Maternal Mortality Rate by State 2022 (worldpopulationreview.com)
Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality | Health Equity Features | CDC
Raymond EG, Grimes DA. The comparative safety of legal induced abortion and childbirth in the United States. Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Feb;119(2 Pt 1):215-9. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31823fe923. PMID: 22270271. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22270271/
Amanda Jean Stevenson; The Pregnancy-Related Mortality Impact of a Total Abortion Ban in the United States: A Research Note on Increased Deaths Due to Remaining Pregnant. Demography 1 December 2021; 58 (6): 2019–2028. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-9585908
