By: Holly Gatling, Executive Director
South Carolina Citizens for Life
COLUMBIA, SC (Thursday, January 21, 2021) By a one vote margin with two Republicans defecting, the Fetal Heartbeat Bill (S1) cleared its second hurdle Thursday when it passed the full Senate Medical Affairs Committee by a vote of
9-8.
The bill, which prohibits most abortions when a baby’s heartbeat can be detected, now moves to the State Senate calendar where its future will be determined by the 30 Republican members in control of the Senate. Senators Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, and
Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, joined the pro-abortion Democrats on the Medical Affairs Committee in voting against the bill.
Last week Senator Davis said he would not support the bill without an exception for rape and incest. The full committee rejected Davis’ proposed rape and incest amendment by a vote of 7-4 with six members, all Democrats, abstaining from
voting.
Voting in favor of moving the Fetal Heartbeat Bill to the Senate floor for debate were:
Medical Affairs Committee Chairman Danny Verdin, R-Laurens
Senator Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee
Senator Shane Martin, R-Spartanburg
Senator Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee
Senator Tom Corbin, R-Greenville
Senator Mike Gambrell, R-Abbeville
Senator Richard Cash, R-Anderson
Senator Dwight Loftis, R-Greenville
Senator Billy Garrett, R- Greenwood
Voting against moving the Fetal Heartbeat Bill to the Senate floor for debate were:
Senator Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg
Senator John Scott Jr., D-Richland
Senator Tom Davis, R-Beaufort
Senator Kevin Johnson, D-Clarendon
Senator Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston
Senator Margie Bright-Matthews, D-Colleton
Senator Sandy Senn, R-Charleston
Senator Mia McLeod, D-Richland
RAPE/INCEST AMENDMENT FAILS 7-4
Senator Davis said he believes an unborn child “is a life. I concur in that.” He argued, however, that a woman who is pregnant through no fault of her own has “sovereignty of her own body.” Senator Corbin questioned why the amendment did not require the crime to be reported to law enforcement, and he noted that last
year a similar bill did require reporting. “Without reporting would this amendment gut the bill?” Senator Corbin asked. Senator Davis said he did not want to require a child victim of incest to file a police report.
Senator Cash spoke strongly against the amendment saying, “Abortion is a way of covering up the crime of rape.” He said it is wrong for the unborn child to pay the penalty for the rapist. “This
is not in any way to minimized the violence and trauma” to the woman, Senator Cash said. “There is no easy answer in a situation like this.” Holding up two identical twelve-week fetal models, Senator Cash asked, “Which one was conceived in rape?”
Voting against the Davis rape and incest amendment were Senators Verdin, Martin, Alexander, Corbin, Cash, Lofts and Garrett.
Voting for the rape and incest amendment were Senators Peeler, Davis, Gambrell, and Senn.
Abstaining from voting on the Davis rape and incest amendment were Senators Hutto, Scott, Johnson, Kimpson, Bright-Matthews, and McLeod.
The full committee also passed two amendments dealing with pre-natal care. One amendment adds information about adoption and foster care to the Woman’s Right to Know Act. Another amendment allows doctors who give pre-natal care to women without insurance, Medicaid, or Obamacare to submit a voucher for
reimbursement.
Please call your State Senator (there are 46 state senators) and encourage him or her to vote for S.1 the Fetal Heartbeat Bill. Find the contact information for your state
senator HERE.
