The language is now House Bill 5399, the South Carolina Human Life Protection Act. The Senate Medical Affairs Committee will take testimony on Wednesday, August 17, on similar language to protect the unborn now that the United State Supreme Court has overturned the Roe and Casey decisions and returned the abortion issue back to the states to decide.

The 13-7 vote, with five committee members not voting, was along party lines. No Democrats voted for the bill. Lisa Van Riper, President of South Carolina Citizens for Life said, “This is another important step toward rebuilding a culture of life in South Carolina where all children will be welcomed and protected while preserving and care for their mom.”

Pro-Life Representative John McCravy, R-Greenwood, an attorney and chairman of the Judiciary Special Laws Subcommittee, said the Human Life Protection Act stops the use of abortion for birth control, protects the life and serious health of the pregnant woman, does not restrict access to contraception, and protects in vitro fertilization and assisted reproductive technology. Both Representative McCravy and Mrs. Van Riper sharply criticized the misleading and intentionally false information that is being spread by abortion supporters. Mrs. Van Riper commended the 13 members as “brave” supporters of human life “in the face of vile misrepresentations and distortions.” 

Earlier in the day, militant pro-abortion Democrat Representative Spencer Wetmore recklessly testified that the Human Life Protection Act will “ban abortions, throw doctors in jail, and kill women.”

Representative McCravy noted that in preparing the language, a specially appointed House Ad Hoc Committee heard 118 witnesses and seven hours of public testimony earlier in the summer. The language was crafted in consultation with medical experts, he said. “The mother’s life is fully protected in this language.”