Anti-Abortion Bill Alert: The proposed South Carolina Human Life Protection Act (H 3457) states that anyone who "knowingly use or employ any instrument, device, means, or procedure upon a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing an abortion" would be found "guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than two years." In addition to furthering the criminalization of reproductive health procedures, the bill also gets rid of exceptions for abortion in cases of rape, incest, and fatal fetal anomalies. Instead, the bill mentions exceptions only for "medical emergencies."

To be clear, this potential law would hurt South Carolinians. The cruelty preventing a person who has experienced sexual violence or who has learned that their wanted pregnancy is doomed from accessing the health care that they deserve is outrageous. But even the reference to "medical emergencies" is a farce. As we have seen in the case of an Upstate woman who was denied adequate care for a miscarriage due to the existing SC abortion ban, exceptions do not work. They are intended to confuse and intimidate patients and medical staff. Exceptions are merely a PR ploy by Christian nationalist lawmakers who are trying to push through laws against the will of the majority of their constituents by pretending to be empathetic. PSAF urgently calls on all of our supporters to voice their opposition to this harmful bill with their SC representatives.

Take action now by signing this petition and follow it up by using WREN's Act Now link:

https://www.scwren.org/act-now/