COLOMBIA – South Carolina Senate lawmakers voted to add exceptions for rape and incest to a bill that would ban most abortions in the state on Tuesday, starting what must be a multi-day debate over the measure. divisive.
The legislation would prohibit abortion after the detection of fetal heartbeat, which usually occurs around 6 to 8 weeks of pregnancy. Opponents note that many women may not even realize that they are pregnant at this stage. Abortion is currently banned in South Carolina after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
After hours of debate, lawmakers approved an amendment to the bill by verbal vote that provides for exceptions in cases of rape or incest. More amendments are expected to be added on Wednesday, including one that would provide an exception if the fetus has a fatal anomaly.
State Senator Richard Cash, known as one of the main defenders of anti-abortion in the Legislature, spoke extensively in opposition to the exceptions, arguing that the punishment for rape should fall solely on the rapist, not on the “innocent human life” that is conceived as a result of this.
“It’s a real baby,” said Cash, R-Anderson. “He is a real human being and one day he will grow up to be a man or a woman, maybe he will get married, maybe he will have his own family. But not if he is killed in the womb.”
Several Republicans stepped back, saying they could oppose abortion without forcing women to pursue a pregnancy resulting from rape.
The addition of exceptions could make the bill even more likely to pass, as it satisfies one of the persistent concerns of some Republicans, like state senator Tom Davis de Beaufort, who said he would not support the bill without those exceptions.
State Senator Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, also rebuked Cash for his repeated invocation of the Bible to support his absolutist anti-abortion position.
“I just want to know if you realize that we are not in a church,” said Senn. “We are in the South Carolina Senate, where there is a separation of church and state.”
When lawmakers decided to approve the exceptions by verbal vote, some time later, it seemed to catch Cash off guard. He later said that he did not know which amendment they were voting on and would have asked for a roll call vote if he had done so.
The amendment would also require doctors to report any abortions they performed due to rape or incest exception to the local sheriff and state health agency, which would be tasked with controlling how often the exception is cited.
Senate majority Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said he hoped to have an initial procedural vote on the general bill on Wednesday and a final vote on Thursday. But it could happen next week, depending on how unified Republicans are in their efforts to approve it.
Democrats are expected to obstruct as long as possible, and Senate rules indicate that Republicans will need at least 26 of their 30 members to vote to end the obstruction in order to make a final vote on the bill.
After making gains in the 2020 elections, Republicans made abortion legislation a top priority for the 2021 legislative session, hoping that their larger majority would help rectify the failure to pass similar bills in previous years.
When deliberations began in the Senate floor, a small group of protesters gathered on the north side of the state building to protest the long-term ramifications that such a ban would have on future generations of South Carolina women.
“It is hard to believe that, in the midst of a violent pandemic, and we cannot get our vaccination plan to be carried out, that the top legislative priority for our state legislators is to actually get health care out of people in this state,” said Ann Warner, CEO of the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network.
As she spoke, cars passed the capitol complex – drivers honking and displaying signs opposing the ban on abortion, as coronavirus protocols made a large public meeting impossible.
Although attendance was sparse, lawmakers received a letter signed by more than 300 female health professionals urging them to vote against the bill.
“Criminalizing abortion does not decrease abortion. Instead, it pushes it underground and demonizes a procedure that is safe and should be accessible to all women, ”said obstetrician / gynecologist Kristi Tomlin, who presented the letter.
Tomlin said he saw four patients die in 2020 of pregnancy-related complications, and many more cannot access basic care as the coronavirus continues to dominate South Carolina.
“Medically unjustified restrictions on health care replace facts with political rhetoric and personal ideology,” said Tomlin. “They tie my hands as a healthcare provider to provide safe and medically accurate information and safe medical procedures for my patients.”
About 55% of abortions in South Carolina are performed after six weeks of gestation, according to 2019 data from the state health department.
The bill, which Governor Henry McMaster promised to sign, will face immediate legal challenges.
“This ban is unconstitutional,” said Vicki Ringer, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
Some supporters of the ban say that is the point: they expect a lawsuit to reach the United States Supreme Court, giving conservative judges the opportunity to reverse or substantially alter the 1973 Roe v. Wade who declared women have a right to access abortion.
Follow Jamie Lovegrove on Twitter @jslovegrove.