In February, Greenwood Senator, Billy Garrett, who represents a large part of Saluda County, co-sponsored Senate Bill S 323, The Unborn Child Protection Act. The bill calls for a nearly total ban on abortion. Action on the bill stalled almost immediately after it was introduced, but it is now scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Medical Affairs Committee. The hearing will be on Wednesday, October 1 at 9:30 a.m in Room 105 of the Gressette building – a Senate office building located adjacent to the S.C. State House in downtown Columbia. There, lawmakers will receive public testimony – as well as remarks from invited experts.
South Carolina Senate Bill S 323, known as the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” proposes a total ban on abortion with nearly no exceptions, criminalizing abortion as homicide and imposing severe penalties on those involved.
Key Provisions
- Total Abortion Ban: Removes the current exceptions for rape, incest, and fatal fetal anomalies, going beyond the existing 6-week ban to prohibit all abortions after conception.
- Criminal Penalties: Equates abortion with homicide, allowing for prison sentences up to 30 years for anyone who undergoes or assists in an abortion.
- Felony Charges for Information/Aid: Makes it a felony to provide abortion-related information or aid, including via phone or internet.
- Minors and Out-of-State Abortions: Prohibits transporting minors out of state for abortion procedures.
- Contraception and IVF: Reworks definitions to potentially restrict forms of birth control and in vitro fertilization (IVF) by redefining “contraceptive” and “human embryo”.
- Abortion Medication: Criminalizes possession of abortion-inducing drugs.
- School Requirements: Mandates all public school students watch an anti-abortion video as part of sex education curriculum.
Impact and Legal Status
- Some describe this bill as unconstitutional. It is certainly a significant expansion of South Carolina’s existing abortion restrictions, already regarded as among the most stringent in the country.
- This is similar to last years House Bill
Summary: S 323 seeks to establish an absolute abortion ban, criminalize related activities, restrict reproductive rights, and impose drastic new regulatory requirements in South Carolina.
