COLUMBIA, SC (Tuesday, January 26, 2021)
Pro-Life Senator Larry Grooms, R-Berkley, told fellow senators on Tuesday that the Fetal Heartbeat Bill, S1, will not pass the SC Senate without exceptions for rape and incest. “I am here to protect the maximum number of lives,” he said, indicating that
to pass a less-than-perfect bill will save more unborn babies’ lives than having no bill.
Immediately thereafter Senators Tom Davis, R- Beaufort, and Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, introduced an amendment for rape and incest that is reported to law enforcement as well as to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The amendment passed on a voice vote.
The Senate will resume at 1 p.m. Wednesday debating the bill that will prohibit most abortions when the unborn child’s heartbeat can be detected. The abortionist is required to test for a heartbeat and offer the mother a chance to hear the heartbeat if present. The original language provides exceptions to include the life of the mother, medical emergencies, and serious
bodily injury to the mother.
The Medical Affairs Committee that first considered the bill added amendments to enhance the pregnant woman’s information about adoption and foster care. The bill was given a slim
one-vote favorable report of 9-8 after the full committee rejected a rape and incest amendment that did not require reporting of the crime to law enforcement.
Other organizations supporting the Heartbeat Bill include the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, the South Carolina Baptist Convention, Palmetto Family, and the South Carolina Association of Pregnancy Care Centers.
