South Carolina considers expansive bill to protect preborn children

A South Carolina legislative committee will consider an expansive pro-life bill on October 1.

Senate Bill 323, The Unborn Child Protection Act, aims to protect most children in the state from abortion; in addition to other pro-life items, the bill would add prenatal development education to the state's public schools.

Key Takeaways:

• South Carolina Senate Bill 323 would remove certain exceptions that currently allow certain abortions, including the exceptions of rape, incest, and fetal diagnosis.

• The bill would also remove the rule regarding a detectable heartbeat and allow for criminal prosecutions of abortionists and for civil action to be taken against abortions by certain individuals.

• Senate Bill 323 also calls for a prenatal education video, with one possible option being Live Action's "Meet Baby Olivia," to be added to public school curricula.

• The bill will be heard by the Medical Affairs Committee at 9:30 am on October 1.

The Details:

South Carolina's SB 323 would make multiple changes to the state's laws regarding abortion, and would seek to better educate public school students on human prenatal development.

Removal of the heartbeat provision

Currently, state law protects preborn children from abortion only after an embryonic heartbeat is detectable — typically at about six weeks gestation (four weeks from fertilization), although the human heart first begins to beat at about 21 days (3 weeks) post-fertilization. SB 323 would remove that timeframe, protecting preborn children from abortion even before a heartbeat is detectable.

Under the bill, abortion would be defined as:

"the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child.  Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, or to remove a dead unborn child."

It defines "clinically diagnosable pregnancy" as "the point in time when it is possible to determine that a woman is pregnant due to the detectable presence of human chorionic gonadotropin [HCG]."

Removal of exceptions

The proposed law would also remove most abortion exceptions included in the current state law.

Abortion is allowed in cases of rape, incest, fetal diagnosis, and if the mother's health or life is in danger. Under SB 323, only the exception for the life of the mother would remain.

If a doctor determines that a medical emergency necessitates "the immediate abortion of [a woman's] pregnancy to avert her death," the abortion may be carried out. However, it's important to note that there are two ways to intentionally end a pregnancy: preterm delivery (through induction or C-section) or induced abortion, in which the child is intentionally killed prior to delivery. A preterm delivery during a medical emergency does not involve deliberately killing the baby and is, therefore, not an abortion.

Care for premature infants

The bill also includes the addition of "technical amendments ... to provide for procedures related to non-emergency premature deliveries after nineteen [19] weeks of pregnancy." It states, "In the case of a non-emergency premature delivery after nineteen weeks of pregnancy: ... the delivery must be performed in a hospital or other health care facility that has appropriate neonatal services for premature infants; and... the physician performing the delivery must arrange for the attendance, in the same room in which the delivery is performed, another physician who is to take control of, provide immediate medical care for, and take all steps reasonably necessary to preserve the life and health of the unborn child immediately upon the child's delivery."

Criminal prosecution, wrongful death

If passed, the bill would allow for the criminal prosecution of abortionists and private civil action against abortionists. Abortion would be a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

SB 323 would also remove the "prohibition of criminal prosecution of a pregnant woman who gets an abortion."

In addition, the bill would create a "wrongful death action on behalf of an aborted unborn child" that could be brought against the abortionist by the mother, the father, or the parent or legal guardian of a minor who underwent the abortion, as well as the estate of a woman who died as a result of an abortion.

Coerced abortion and trafficking of minors

SB 323 would also make it "unlawful to knowingly or intentionally... use force, or the threat of force, to injure or intimidate a pregnant woman for the purpose of coercing an abortion; or ... recruit, harbor, or transport a pregnant minor who resides in this State to another state to procure an abortion or to obtain an abortifacient."

A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb | Baby Olivia

Prenatal Development Education in Schools

In addition, SB 323 would "provide for certain additional instruction on human growth and development taught in the state's schools."

The instruction "must include a presentation of a high-quality, computer generated rendering or animation of at least three minutes in duration comparable in quality with the "Meet Baby Olivia" video developed by Live Action... demonstrating the process of fertilization and stages of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development from fertilization until birth."

The instruction does not specifically require the "Baby Olivia" video.

The Bottom Line:

Abortion supporters are pushing back against SB 323. Courtney Thomas, the advocacy director of South Carolina's American Civil Liberties Union, called the bill "unconstitutional and deadly."

However, induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — is not medically necessary. Intentionally killing a human being is not health care. If a pregnancy must end, doctors can perform an emergency C-section or an induced preterm delivery. If the child tragically does not survive these efforts, such a procedure is still not considered an abortion because the intent of the procedure was not to ensure the child's death.

SB 323 is scheduled to be discussed by the Medical Affairs Committee at 9:30 am on October 1.