SOUTH CAROLINA: Statement on passage of S. 1 out of subcommittee
For Immediate Release: Jan. 15, 2021 (Updated: Jan. 15, 2021, 3:18 p.m.)
Statement from Vicki Ringer, SC Director of Public Affairs:
State lawmakers’ priorities are gravely out of step with the urgent needs of South Carolinians. Instead of first helping families and communities struggling with the impact of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, our state leaders are rushing through extreme legislation that would make almost all abortions illegal in South Carolina.
Senate Bill 1 would prevent a woman from getting an abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy — only about two weeks after a missed period. This is before many women even know they are pregnant. This bill could take away a person's right to make her own medical decision before she would have known she had a decision to make.
It is unacceptable, and frankly, irresponsible that the very first bill to be heard in South Carolina will aim to restrict basic, essential health care, especially given all of the hardships that thousands of South Carolinians are currently facing. We will not stand for it.