Human Life Protection Act

This bill puts in place the "Human Life Protection Act," which bans all abortions in South Carolina, except in emergencies.

• Abortion: A medical treatment that ends a pregnancy

This Bill: 

• Sets up punishments for anyone doing or helping with an abortion, calling it a crime.

• Protects the identities of people involved in legal cases that have to do with abortion

• Takes away exceptions for abortions in cases where a person is really hurt or forced against their wishes, or when a doctor finds that the baby is going to die either when it is born or beforehand.

• Makes doctors write up and share all abortions they do.

• Makes changes to laws about things that help people avoid getting pregnant, and technology that helps people get pregnant.

• Allows elected leaders to jump into legal challenges against these changes.

• Makes it illegal for anyone to:

  • Give or sell any drug meant to cause an abortion.

  • Use any tools to do an abortion.

  • Punishments for breaking these rules:

    • Being charged as a ‘felon,’ which means you did a serious crime and may have to go to prison.

    • Having to pay up to $10,000.

    • Up to 2 years in prison (or both).

  • Using violence or threats to push someone into having an abortion is also a felony with the same punishments.

  • Professionals who are not doctors who help with an abortion could face the same punishments.

• Adds a new definition: "Selective reduction," which is a medical treatment that stops the development of one or more fetus’ during pregnancy.

  • Fetus: This is a term for a baby growing inside its mother's womb before it is born.

• Removes definitions for:

  • "Fatal fetal anomaly" (where the baby wouldn't survive after birth).

  • "Rape" (which used to be defined as sexual acts that are a crime).

• Changes the rules for agreeing to have an abortion:

  • Written permission from the pregnant person is needed before an abortion can happen.

  • If the woman can’t give permission, a court-appointed guardian, who is someone a court says can take care of a person, has to give permission for them.

• Makes performing an abortion after finding a heartbeat a felony, with punishments of:

  • Up to a $10,000 fine.

  • Up to 2 years in prison.

• Bans "selective reduction" of embryos, which is a medical procedure that stops the growth of one or more babies in a pregnancy when there are multiple embryos(like twins or triplets). This is sometimes done for health reasons. Unless it's to protect another fetus.

  • Embryo: like a fetus, but in the very early parts of pregnancy.

• Gets rid of the process that does not require a judge that lets people under 18 get an abortion without needing a parent’s permission.

• Makes courts decide if they can protect a pregnant person’s identity and give orders to keep their name private.

  • Their identity can’t be hidden from the person fighting them in court or their lawyer.

• Puts new reporting rules in place:

  • Doctors have to tell the state about every abortion within 7 days.

  • Health insurance that the state pays for can’t pay for abortions, except in medical emergencies.

• Starts right away once the Governor gives it the green light.

If this bill passes:

• People involved in legal cases about abortion can ask to have their name stay private

• Doctors have to do an ultrasound before an abortion, and the ultrasound image has to be shown to the pregnant person.

  • Ultrasound: A picture of the fetus inside the pregnant person, made using sound waves

  • Doctors must write down if they find that a fetus has a heartbeat.

• Abortion is allowed if it’s necessary to:

  • Prevent the person’s death.

  • Prevent serious, permanent physical harm (not including mental health).

• Doctors need to document:

  • Why the abortion was necessary.

  • The person’s medical condition.

  • The steps taken to save the unborn child.

• Doctors must keep these records for 7 years.

• Breaking these rules is a felony, punishable by:

  • Up to a $10,000 fine.

  • Up to 2 years in prison.

• The law doesn’t ban:

  • Using birth control if it’s done right.

  • Using intrauterine devices (IUDs), which are tools put inside the body to avoid getting pregnant.

  • Taking the morning-after pill within 5 days of unprotected sex, to avoid getting pregnant .

  • In vitro fertilization (IVF), as long as it follows medical rules.

    • In vitro fertilization: A medical treatment that helps people have a baby by combining an egg and sperm outside the body in a lab. Then, the doctor places the fertilized egg inside the mother’s womb so it can grow into a baby.

• If someone challenges these changes in court, the elected leaders in South Carolina can defend the changes.

  • The House and Senate can each jump in on their own in lawsuits.