In 1974, one year after the lethal Roe v. Wade decision had overturned all South Carolina’s own life-protecting laws,
South Carolina Citizens for Life was incorporated by a small group committed to saving innocent unborn babies from legalized abortion.
We did this by restoring the
limited legal protections permitted under Roe – Parental Consent, Woman’s Right to Know, Abortion Clinic Regulations – while passing legislation that could possibly overturn Roe.
As the network of pregnancy resources centers increased, South Carolina Citizens for Life expanded its work to protect the centers from governmental interference that could limit their first amendment rights to speech and religion. To this day the abortion industry is attempting to shut down pregnancy care centers.
As faith and community groups engaged to address the horrific consequences of Roe, South Carolina Citizens for Life provided educational presentations and resources based on accurate science and law. The first March for Life was held in January of 1974, and the first Pro-Life Booth at the State Fair began
in October of 1974!
Yes, South Carolina Citizens for Life started small, embryonic if you will. But we grew. Our original mission never wavered: protect as many unborn
children and their moms as possible until Roe v. Wade could be overturned.
I must admit that I did not expect to live to see the day when South Carolina
would be freed from the judicial shackles of Roe. But I did not grow weary. I knew that our educational advocacy, along with compassionate care and moral, legal, and medical education, saves lives.
Statistically, I could see that with each of the 16 laws that South Carolina Citizens for Life championed, abortions declined in our state; children were born, and
moms were spared the agony often associated with abortion.
As part of South Carolina’s pro-life movement, you were part of those children’s birthdays.
Let that last point sink in. Because of your support, there are children (many now adults) alive today and women saved from despair.
To my surprise, I did live
to see June 24, 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe and returned the issue to the States and elected lawmakers. The Dobbs decision, in reversing Roe, broke the bondage of unlimited abortion that scourged our country for nearly five
decades.
We are in a new era and news paths are ahead of us. But trust me, the culture of death will not go quietly into the night. Even as I
write this letter, the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act – passed by the General Assembly, signed by the Governor in May 2023, and upheld by the SC Supreme Court – is again being challenged by Planned Parenthood.
Yes, we still have years of work ahead
of us. We still have very angry, well-funded opposition to our life-saving work. But with your continued support during our Year of Jubilee, we will be working more closely than ever with lawmakers for public policies that:
- protect the unborn and support their mothers;
- protect, fund, and encourage the work of pregnancy
resource centers;
- protect the first amendment rights of religious and educational groups that speak for life;
- provide accurate educational resources to prepare South Carolinians to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
And, yes, even as we work to restore legal protection for the unborn and their moms, we must be vigilant about strengthening protection for the other medically vulnerable members of our human family. For almost half a century, Roe not only eroded the right to life of unborn children, it also eroded that sanctity of life ethic that protects devalued persons – the elderly and disabled.
