Efforts to pass a stricter abortion law in South Carolina failed again yesterday when senators rejected a House-backed proposal, and the House conferees went home.
Conference committee Rep. John McCravy, saying he had a family conflict that forced him to leave Columbia two hours after the first meeting. House and senate blaming each other for the stalemate.
Powdersville Senator Richard Cash scolding his colleagues saying, “We have the authority to say you can kill the unborn human being by our vote. That's blasphemous. Presuming to ourselves the place of God.”
South Carolina's ban, with exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest or when the life of the patient is threatened, isn't being enforced, The state Supreme Court is considering a challenge that it violates the right to privacy in the state constitution. Without it, South Carolina reverts to the original 20-week abortion ban.
After the Senate met, GOP House Speaker Murrell Smith said the representatives won't push the issue any further next year . Noting the population of the Senate won't change until the 2024 election, Smith said "The same Senators who just voted, will still be in the Senate."