South Carolina Senate holds second hearing on expansive abortion bill

The South Carolina Senate is holding a second hearing on Senate Bill (SB) 323, which would protect most preborn children from abortion. The bill would also add prenatal development education requirements for public schools.

Key Takeaways:

• SB 323 was introduced in February, and would protect most preborn children from abortion by removing some exceptions, including those for rape, incest, and fetal diagnosis.

• The bill also allow criminal prosecutions of abortionists, as well as civil action to be taken by certain individuals.

• Information on prenatal development would also be added to the curriculum for public schools.

• A second hearing is scheduled for this week.

The Details:

The South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the bill on November 18, and while the public is able to view the hearing, it is not open for testimony. If passed, there would be multiple changes made to South Carolina's laws regarding abortion.

The provision of a detectable heartbeat, as currently written in state law, would be removed. The human heart first begins beating at about 21 days (three weeks) post-fertilization, and typically can be detected by approximately six weeks gestation (four weeks post-fertilization). SB 323 would remove that time frame, meaning preborn children would be protected even at the earliest stages of pregnancy.

The bill would define abortion 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.

The definition of "clinically diagnosable pregnancy" would be "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]."

South Carolina law also currently permits abortions to be committed in cases of rape, incest, fetal diagnosis, and if the mother's health or life is in danger; SB 323 would remove most exceptions and permit abortion to save the life of the mother.

Civil and criminal charges could be brought against abortionists under SB 323, including a "wrongful death action on behalf of an aborted unborn child" against the abortionist by the mother, the father, the parent or legal guardian of a minor, or the estate of a woman who died from an abortion. SB 323 also bans coerced abortions and the trafficking of minors for the purpose of abortion.

Finally, the bill would require prenatal development education to be added to public school curriculum. While Live Action's "Baby Olivia" is not specifically required, it is used as an example of the education that students should receive:

... 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.

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

Why It Matters:

Even among pro-life advocates, the three exceptions are often discussed as 'acceptable' reasons to allow for the intentional and direct killing of preborn children. United States Rep. Nancy Mace, who represents South Carolina, told WCIV that these exceptions should remain.

"As a state lawmaker and as a federal lawmaker, I've always been pro-life," she said. "But I also looked out for women who've been raped. Girls who may be victims of incest and the life of the mother. Those exceptions are very important."

Either a preborn child conceived as a result of rape or incest is a valuable human being, or she isn't. A child is no less worthy of life due to the crimes of her father or circumstances of her conception. These do not negate a human's intrinsic right to life.

Eugenic abortions are likewise not pro-life, even when the preborn child might not live long after birth... and even conditions largely seen as fatal are not always so. Yet even if a child might die within hours of being born, intentionally ending his life is not acceptable. Perinatal hospice offers parents options.

In addition, a study from Duke University found that women who chose abortion after their child was labeled “incompatible with life” found that these women reported experiencing “significantly more despair, avoidance, and depression than women who continued the pregnancy.” Women who carried to term, however, reported much better outcomes, including feeling gratitude and peace about their children's lives.

The Bottom Line:

Pro-life laws should protect preborn children regardless of the circumstances of their conception, while providing legitimate support and real care to mothers who are survivors of sexual assault or incest. Both are human beings, and both deserve to be treated as such.