Abortion Ban (S. 1095)

This bill would make it illegal to receive an abortion in South Carolina unless the pregnant person’s life is in danger, drastically limiting the scope of reproductive healthcare. It would:

• Make it a felony for providers to perform an abortion and a misdemeanor for a pregnant person to receive an abortion unless the pregnant person’s life is in danger

• Make it a felony to provide pregnant people with abortion-inducing drugs to cause an abortion and a misdemeanor for a pregnant person to take an abortion-inducing drug to cause an abortion

• Make it a felony for an individual or organization to possess, manufacture, mail, distribute, transport, deliver, or provide an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant person to cause an abortion

Furthermore, this bill would increase litigation around abortion cases. This bill would allow a pregnant person who receives an abortion to bring a defense against prosecution that they were compelled to receive an abortion out of fear of death or bodily injury. Additionally, the attorney general, mother, father, grandparents, children of the person who obtained an abortion, or the legal guardian of the person who obtained an abortion (if she is under 18) can bring a civil action if they believe an abortion was performed illegally. This bill also expands who can be charged with an abortion crime by stating South Carolina courts have jurisdiction over any person or entity who violates this bill regardless of location if they send abortion-inducing drugs to a South Carolinian.

Lastly, this bill would create a burden on physicians who provide abortions. In this bill, doctors could be charged with misdemeanors and have their licenses suspended and potentially revoked if they fail to report any legal abortions they perform within seven days of the procedure.

We oppose this bill because it is a direct attack on South Carolinians’ reproductive freedoms. In a state where abortion access is already among the most restricted in the country, adding additional barriers and penalties will make receiving an abortion nearly impossible. This bill would only allow a person to receive an abortion if their life is in danger.

This takes away people’s bodily autonomy and is a gross overreach of state government attempting to control South Carolinians’ personal healthcare decisions. A bill like this will increase the number of unsafe abortions, increase the already high maternal mortality rate in South Carolina, and create an environment where healthcare providers will be hesitant to perform abortions out of fear of a lawsuit. This is a dangerous bill that will lead to fear, injury, and death of pregnant people.