COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – The latest effort to ban abortion in South Carolina will go before a full Senate committee on Thursday.
The South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Committee will take up S.1095, a day after it was approved by a subcommittee. That vote came following a two-hour hearing on Tuesday.
The latest proposal, known as the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” would effectively replace the state’s current ban on abortion after six weeks.
The bill would prohibit abortions once a pregnancy is clinically diagnosable and eliminate existing exceptions for rape, incest and fatal fetal anomalies. Abortions would be permitted only in cases of medical emergencies to prevent a woman’s death or a “substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.”
The current law allows for abortions up to 12 weeks in cases of rape or incest.
Supporters of the new bill argue that those exceptions do not go far enough. Sen. Richard Cash, a Republican from Anderson County and a sponsor, said he has pushed for stricter abortion laws since taking office in 2017.
“The right to life is an unalienable right that comes from God, and the state needs to recognize that and codify that in law,” Cash said Tuesday.
Under the proposal, doctors who illegally perform abortions could face felony charges punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Pregnant women could also face misdemeanor charges, carrying a potential sentence of up to two years in prison. Both parties’ would face hefty fines.
Opponents say the bill goes too far and would have serious consequences for patients and medical providers. Outside the committee room, advocates for abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights rallied outside the South Carolina State House on Tuesday.
Carey Shofner with the Palmetto State Abortion Fund emphasized the existing six‑week ban has not satisfied some lawmakers.
“Even with that six‑week ban in place, that’s never going to be good enough for some people,” Shofner said. “Some people today were testifying that they didn’t think this total abortion ban was extreme enough because women couldn’t be charged with the death penalty.”
Back inside the committee room, Ashlyn Preaux, also with the Palmetto State Abortion Fund, said criminalizing women would harm families.
“You’re not protecting families by passing this bill,” she said. “You’re actually tearing them apart, because when you criminalize a mom, you’re not just punishing her — you’re punishing her children.”
The bill would also classify abortion medications such as Mifepristone as Schedule IV controlled substances under state law.
“Last year, this subcommittee rejected a bill just like this one because they saw it for what it was: disgraceful government overreach and abject cruelty,” Vicki Ringer, Director of Public Affairs at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said in a statement after Wednesday’s vote. “And yet today they voted to advance the same total abortion ban that criminalizes doctors and patients, threatening to throw a woman who has an abortion in prison. We have to meet this assault on our rights. Keep calling, keep emailing, keep speaking out — let your legislator know that you’re watching, and your rights are not for the taking.”
Some argued the bill is a step in the right direction, but said it does not go far enough. Mark Corral with Equal Protection South Carolina said abortion should be treated as homicide under state law.
“Would you want your death to be treated as a mere misdemeanor?” Corral said. “Failing to treat the willful killing of a preborn child as homicide violates God’s law.”
Gov. Henry McMaster has previously said he believes South Carolina’s six‑week abortion ban reflects the views of most residents.
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