SC senators go back and forth over changes to proposed Abortion Ban Bill

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — The debate about the Abortion Ban Bill on the Senate floor carried over into a second day Thursday.

With senators from both parties having a hard time coming to a compromise, a lot of amendments and discussion took place.

“I think that we ought to go beyond heartbeat because I don’t think abortion should be used as birth control,” said Senate majority leader Shane Massey.

Republican Senator Tom Davis proposed amendments to the the Abortion Ban Bill including protection for doctors who perform an abortion to save the life of a mother.

“The only difference is that rather than having that rule inferred, we’re declaring it,” Sen. Davis said. “I think there is value in declaring it. I admit it’s a bit redundant.”

Democratic Senator Gerald Malloy proposed leaving the issue of abortion in South Carolina up to the people.

“The citizens in our state should have the chance to go to the polls in a general election in 2024 on this issue which is a lifetime issue,” Malloy said.

Republican Senator Luke Rankin agreed with this.

“I am pro-life. This is a not an effort to curry favor with folks who are not pro-life,” Rankin said. “It is an effort to be honest about what we’re doing.”

Not voting for any amendments on Wednesday, Democratic Senator Marion Kimpson proposed an amendment to strike down the bill. 

“Most of the doctors who testified were against this bill,” Kimpson said about the testimonies from the Medical Affairs Committee meeting.

After a motion to end discussion and vote on the bill failed, Sen. Massey proposed an amendment of his own.

“This is an effort to what I think is the next best thing,” Massey said.

Massey’s amendment included exceptions to that abortion ban for rape and incest as well as instances where the unborn child would not survive birth. 

“These exceptions are the very exceptions that this body debated and agreed upon on the heartbeat law,” Massey said. “It’s word for word the same exceptions but the limitation is 12 weeks for rape and incest. The heartbeat law said 20 weeks.”

The Fetal Heartbeat Bill has been blocked by the the South Carolina Supreme Court and some Senators say they believe the same would be done with an Abortion Ban Bill.