Proposed SC bill says ‘life begins at conception’; all abortions illegal

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(WPDE) — A proposed bill in South Carolina aims to give an unborn child human rights, which would make all abortions illegal if passed.

The bill was prefilled back in December and introduced in the house Jan. 14. The Prenatal Equal Protection Act is now in the House Judiciary Committee.

It defines an unborn child as a person at any stage of development to ensure that an unborn child who is a victim of homicide is afforded equal protection under the homicide laws of the state, with exceptions.

Upstate Representative Mike Burns said its purpose is to follow the 14th amendment: the right to life, liberty and property.

“The purpose of the bill I signed onto it when I learned it was a bill to recognize life begins at conception,” Burns explained.

The exceptions in the bill include a spontaneous miscarriage, life saving procedures to save the life of the mother and mistakes or unintentional errors made by a physician.

ABC 15 asked Representative Burns if women could be prosecuted under this bill.

“That wasn’t my goal to do that and I was a little bit surprised that it was a possibility to do what it’s able to do apparently, and that’s why I told you on the onset there will be a time for that to be talked about,” he said.

Right now South Carolina has a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, but it still faces legal challenges.

The Prenatal Protection Act would mean equal protection laws are applied at the moment of fertilization, which would mean abortion at any stage would be illegal and could lead to a homicide charge.

“It would be viewed that life begins at conception six weeks earlier than the heartbeat,” Burns said.