(ConservativeHub.com) – South Carolina GOP members are promoting a bill that would target people in the state who get abortions, according to NBC News. Under the legislation, a person who got an abortion could be subject to South Carolina’s murder laws.
According to the bill, South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act is designed to make sure that any baby “who is a victim of homicide” has the right to be protected under the state’s appropriate laws. According to this bill, during every stage of pregnancy, the fetus would be defined as a “person.”
In South Carolina, those who are found guilty of murder face a minimum penalty of 30 years behind bars and could even potentially face the death penalty, according to reports.
There are some exceptions specified in the bill. These include cases where the mother needed to terminate the pregnancy because her life or her health were in imminent danger. There is also an exception in cases where a doctor would perform the abortion in order to save a pregnant woman from death. Finally, there would also be an exception in cases of “accidental or unintentional injury or death” of the baby when every the possible option to preserve their life that was available was attempted.
The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Rob Harris, and it doesn’t offer exceptions for cases of incest or rape. Harris had served as a registered nurse for close to three decades before joining the Legislature. The legislation was first introduced in January but it has not yet been considered by the state’s House Judiciary Committee. Initially, it had support from two dozen co-sponsors, but some of the Republicans backing it have pulled their endorsements in recent weeks.
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