COLUMBIA, S.C. (Tuesday, March 11, 2025) – A subcommittee of the State Senate Finance Committee advanced a strong pro-life bill Tuesday that would give tax credits to individuals and businesses that support pregnancy care centers, adoption agencies, and foster care organizations,
among other non-profit pro-life and pro-family establishments in South Carolina.
While South Carolina Citizens for Life would not qualify as a beneficiary, the organization strongly supports the legislation as part of its Visioning A Way Forward from Dobbs to a Culture of Life (see attached) which includes supporting policies that provide resource care for the unborn members of our
human family and their mothers.
The legislation received unanimous approval by members of the Sales & Income Tax Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee including Chairman Ross Turner, R-Greenville, Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, and Tom Corbin, R-Greenville. It advances to the full committee which is scheduled to meet Tuesday March 18.
Eligible charitable organizations include those that provide adoption services, prevent abuse, neglect, abandonment,
exploitation or trafficking of children, and provide assistance related to carrying a pregnancy to term, preventing abortion, and promoting healthy childbirth.
The law requires eligible organizations to state in writing to the S.C. Department of Revenue that the organization “does not provide, pay for, or provide coverage of abortion and does not financially support any other entity
that provides, pays for or provides coverage for abortion.”
South Carolina Citizens for Life strongly supports the legislation S 32
known as the Pregnancy Resource Tax Credit Bill. It is sponsored by Senators Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley/Charleston; Matt Leber, R-Charleston,/Colleton/ Dorchester; Rex Rice, R-Greenville/Pickens; and Mike Reichenbach, R-Florence.
In the attached letter to the Sales & Income Tax Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee, SCCL President Lisa Van Riper wrote, “Science leaves no doubt
that life in the womb is alive and of the human species. This fact is acknowledged in the South Carolina Code of Law 44-41-610 (14) that states ‘Unborn child means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from conception until live birth.’ The South Carolina General Assembly has the opportunity now to continue to build the culture of life by enacting pro-life policies such as S 32.”
After the unanimous subcommittee vote, Mrs. Van Riper applauded the bill that “will further incentivize the private sector to provide women with the resources they need to care for and protect their children, unborn and born. The bill represents a public-private partnership in building the culture of life.”
Cathy Leeke, the State Director of Lifeline Children’s Services, expressed strong support for the bill and especially thanked Senator Grooms for getting it drafted and introduced in the 2025-2026 legislative session. The legislation is modeled on two Alabama laws that have created new revenue streams for pro-life, pro-family charitable organizations. “I am thankful for the community support,” she said, emphasizing, “We are not just pro-birth but pro-life” by providing
numerous services to pregnant women, children and families. “South Carolina has life-affirming priorities.”
Mark Baumgartner, founder and executive director of A Moment of Hope in Columbia, S.C., said he was “encouraged by the outpouring of support for the bill.” If passed, the bill could benefit A Moment of Hope by expanding the donor base with tax credit incentives. A Moment of Hope
operates a mobile pregnancy care unit that provides immediate alternatives to women who have scheduled an abortion appointment at Planned Parenthood in Columbia.
A tax credit reduces the amount of taxes owed dollar-for-dollar. Donors who support federally recognized charitable organizations are eligible for tax deductions which reduce the amount of taxable income. Tax credits, however,
have the potential to bring in larger amounts of money and give taxpayers some say over how their tax dollars are used.
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