Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano accessed Twitter on Wednesday to criticize a Statehouse proposal that would give her department the names of any rape or incest victims who had abortions.
The amendment, part of the so-called “fetal heartbeat” bill, would require any doctor who performs an abortion for a patient who reports that the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest to provide the patient’s contact information to the local sheriff within 24 hours .
“It is absolutely crazy to victimize the victim again,” Graziano tweeted in response to the amendment. “Sheriffs shouldn’t be policing a woman’s body, religious beliefs or personal health decisions.”
The Senate must pass the full bill and then hand it over to the House for plenary action and committee before falling to Governor Henry McMaster’s desk. The governor, who supports the measure, said he would sign it.
Graziano, who earlier this month became the first woman in the state of Palmetto and the first openly gay sheriff, campaigned with promises of transparency and respect from the authorities.
“I may be a new sheriff, but I’m not new to being a woman,” added Graziano in a tweet with the hashtag #mybodymyrights. “If all men who intend to have a vasectomy could kindly report to the sheriff, where you will be asked to provide a DNA sample, we would be very grateful. Rape victims would appreciate …”
Charleston is one of the few counties in the state of Palmetto with abortion providers and has a victim-focused program for nurses to collect forensic evidence from victims of sexual violence at South Carolina Medical University.
This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.
Talk to Sara Coello at 843-937-5705 and follow her on Twitter @smlcoello.