This is a red alert moment for sexual and reproductive rights in South Carolina. Take Action now. Ask family members, neighbors and friends to act. The South Carolina Legislature plans to hold a special session this year to ban abortions in South Carolina if the Supreme Court of the United States overturns Roe versus Wade this summer. Tell legislators to vote no on bills that restrict access to reproductive health care, so that women in South Carolina can continue to enjoy the reproductive health and rights we deserve.
Early in the 2021-2022 session that ended last month, the South Carolina Legislature passed the Fetal Heartbeat Bill. (South Carolina Legislature Online - Bill Search by Bill Number (scstatehouse.gov) S.1). On February 22, 2022 a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling blocking the abortion law at least for now.
The Legislature failed to pass a second bill during this 2021-22 session, S.988, referred to as the "Trigger Law." It bans all abortions unless the death of the pregnant person is imminent, and declares a fertilized egg to be a person. This bill includes no exceptions for rape or incest. LWVSC opposed the bill as a violation of our right to privacy and of our freedom of religion. (South Carolina Legislature Online - Bill Search by Bill Number (scstatehouse.gov)
On 1/26/2022 the League of Women Voters of South Carolina(LWVSC) provided testimony on the proposed Bill. (S. 988 LWVSC Testimony) Also, LWV of Oconee and Pickens Counties (LWVOP) sent an Action Alert to Members [SL1] urging them to ask Senator Alexander as a member of the Medical Affairs Committee to vote no to the Bill because it
- makes abortion, including medication abortion, a crime;
- makes IUDs and other common contraceptives illegal;
- criminalizes IVF; and
- potentially criminalizes miscarriage or stillbirth.
Legislators heard from their constituents. S.988 did not make it out of the Committees in either the House or Senate where it had originated.
The SC Legislature is poised to take up discussion and passage of a restrictive bill following the Supreme Court abortion decision, expected at the end of June. The LWVSC will be ready to take action once again with its partners, Women's Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN): www.scwren.org and Planned Parenthood: www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-votes-south-atlantic
The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. The LWVSC strongly supports reproductive rights, including family planning, access to abortion and sex education. To find out more about these positions including the long history of the League’s advocacy for reproductive health and rights see (LWVSC Program & Action Agenda 2021-2023, Revised May 2021 and Impact on Issues 2020-2022 (LWVUS).
The impact of an unplanned pregnancy falls primarily on the woman. Women who can afford it will travel to another state while those who can’t travel will resort to unsafe methods and providers. Women will die. Furthermore, S988 Equal Protection for Unborn Babies Act makes abortion, including medication abortion, a crime, with charges including feticide, manslaughter, homicide, and more. It would make IUDs and other common contraceptives illegal, because they could prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. Couples experiencing infertility couldn’t undergo IVF. It is likely that some women experiencing miscarriage or stillbirth could undergo police questioning and possible criminal charges/imprisonment.
The South Carolina legislature needs to listen carefully to the voices of women and consider that these bills will not eliminate abortion in South Carolina. DHEC reported 86 abortions among Oconee County Residents during 2019; there were 686 births to County residents that year. The numbers for Pickens County were 128 and 1284 respectively.Vital-Morbidity-Statistics_2019.pdf (scdhec.gov) p. 11 and p.93. In 2019 there were 57,004 births to South Carolina women; 10,897 abortions were reported.
[SL1] There was an article in the March 2022 Voter "Action Alert: Reproductive Health and Rights" that is on the web page march_2022_voter.pdf (lwv.org) p. 6.
If you would like to read LWVSC testimonies on "Women's Reproductive Rights," see https://my.lwv.org/south-carolina-state/legislative-advocacy/2021-22-human-rights-human-services-advocacy
During the 2018-2020 legislative session, LWVSC advocated against H.3020, the bill commonly, and erroneously, called the “fetal heartbeat bill”; that name misrepresents its contents. The bill would criminalize abortion as early as six weeks after conception when many women don’t even know that they are pregnant and when, in fact, there is no heart and no heartbeat. In September 2019, we testified in opposition to this bill.
Enhanced Availability of Contraception
During the 2019-2020 legislative session, LWVSC also advocated for H.3279 and S.187, bills that would require both private and public insurers to allow women to receive up to 12 months of contraceptive access at once. Where this has been done, it has greatly reduced unintended pregnancies and therefore has done far more to prevent abortions than the efforts of “pro-life” advocates.
We did not have hearings on these bills but, through the efforts of Rep. Beth Bernstein and Rep. Kirkman Finlay, negotiated an agreement that would permit women receiving Medicaid through Managed Care Options (provided by private insurers) to receive six months of contraception at once. Fee for Service Medicaid already permits twelve-month dispensing. All, of course, would be at the discretion of physicians.
