South Carolina Abortion Waiting Period Bill Gets Amendment Pro-Lifers Oppose
by Holly Gatling
March 25, 2010
Columbia, SC (LifeNews.com) — The South Carolina Senate passed a troubling amendment to the 24-hour waiting period before an abortion and sent the amended bill back to the House of Representatives. If the House concurs with the Senate changes, the bill becomes law. If the House refuses to agree with the Senate, the bill goes to a conference committee.
On a voice vote, the Senate agreed to a very disturbing amendment by militant pro-abortion Senator Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, to waive a 24-hour waiting period for an abortion if the unborn child would not survive until birth.
Pro-life Senator Phil Shoopman, R-Greenville, opposed the Hutto amendment telling his colleagues he and his wife had been misinformed that their now six-year-old child had died in the womb.
Eight Republican senators joined Senator Shoopman in his opposition to the Hutto amendment. They are Senators Mick Mulvaney, Lancaster-York; Kevin Bryant, Anderson; Mike Rose, Dorchester-Charleston; Lee Bright,Spartanburg; Shane Martin, Greenville-Spartanburg; Tom Davis, Beaufort; Larry Grooms, Berkeley-Charleston-Colleton; and Danny Verdin, Greenville-Laurens.
They made the following statement for the Senate Journal:
“We voted against Senator Hutto’s amendment on [the 24-hour waiting period]. We were swayed in large part by the experiences of Senator Shoopman and his wife and by the fact that we believe that theirs was not an isolated occurrence. Those experiences reaffirm our belief that neither technology nor medical insight has progressed to the level where a single ultrasound could always determine whether an intrauterine natural death was ‘inevitable.’ We believe that applying the 24-hour waiting period under such circumstances is an appropriate level of protection for the unborn child.
“Our opposition is not a knee-jerk reaction," the senators said, "but a studied response to what is, by any measure, an almost unbearable set of circumstances. If that is misconstrued by some as lacking compassion, that is a criticism we are willing to bear.”
South Carolina Citizens for Life will continue to closely monitor the legislation and provide accurate information that is in the best interest of pregnant women and unborn children.
Related web sites:
South Carolina Citizens for Life – https://www.sclife.org
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