The Quickie: Abortion Rights Supporters Rally to Oppose Total Ban in South Carolina
For Immediate Release: Aug. 30, 2022
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day.
ABORTION RIGHTS SUPPORTERS RALLY TO OPPOSE TOTAL BAN IN S.C.: As House lawmakers convene today to debate HB 5399, a total abortion ban in South Carolina, Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic and coalition partners are rallying supporters and advocates in opposition to the bill. If enacted, HB 5399 would ban nearly all abortion in South Carolina with an extremely narrow exception to save the life of the pregnant person. The House is expected to vote on the bill today; the Senate reconvenes next week. Earlier this month, the South Carolina Supreme Court temporarily blocked the state’s six-week ban, which had cut off most patients from care when it was allowed to take effect after Roe was overturned.
Supporters of abortion rights started the day by greeting legislators outside the capitol building, telling them loudly and clearly that their abortion ban does not belong in South Carolina. The rally was sponsored by PPVSA along with the ACLU of SC, Women’s Rights Empowerment Network, and SC United for Justice & Equality.
Read more at AP, and follow today’s events on PPSAT’s Twitter and PPACT’s Instagram stories.
REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO BACKPEDAL ON ABORTION, BUT VOTERS WON’T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT: A recent CNN article discussed a new troubling trend–Republican candidates across the country are attempting to hide or soften their-anti abortion stances, as they are quickly realizing that abortion rights is a winning issue. From Kansans’ overwhelming vote to preserve abortion rights to Democrats’ recent victory in the NY-19 special election, voters have loudly and clearly shown up for reproductive freedom, putting Republicans on the defensive.
The latest example of this comes from Arizona senate candidate Blake Masters, who has scrubbed his website's policy page of tough abortion restrictions, including his support of a “federal personhood law,” and the declaration that he is “100% pro-life.” Masters is far from alone, though. Michigan congressional candidate Tom Barrett, another “100% pro-life, no exceptions” Republican, has deleted all anti-abortion rhetoric from the “issues” section on his campaign website. Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen recently backtracked on public comments he made earlier in the year, including his goal to “try and ban abortion” in the state and that he didn’t support exceptions for rape or incest.
While Republicans are attempting to rewrite history, voters will not stand for it. Their feeble attempts to appear more “moderate” are only a result of the realization their true views on abortion and reproductive freedom are deeply out-of-touch. Candidates like Masters and Barrett are underestimating voters, and lying to themselves if they think they will fall for it.