Updates

20 Years Running

January 22, 2018

For 20 years in a row, legislation has been introduced in South Carolina that would interfere with a woman’s right to make personal, private decisions about her own body and her health.

This restrictive legislation is call “personhood.”

South Carolina is one of many states that have advanced so-called personhood legislation, legislation that seeks to establish full legal rights including due process and equal protection, for eggs from the moment of fertilization, before a pregnancy has occurred.

These bills do not include specific medical terms, but if implemented would:

1. Outlaw widely used and effective hormonal contraceptive methods, like the pill and IUDs;
2. Restrict the use of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments;
3. Subject a woman who suffers pregnancy-related complications or miscarriage to extensive criminal investigation and jail time or potential charges of reckless endangerment or homicide; and
4. Ban abortion.

We should be working to eliminate barriers to health care and support women and families in our community, rather than pushing laws that impose personal beliefs and could have dangerous consequences.

Legislation that attempts to enshrine personhood into law is part of an agenda of denying personal decisions and criminalizing women and providers.  This kind of attack falls hardest on low-income women and women of color.

Here’s what you can do TODAY to Be the Voice in pushing back against harmful restrictions:

• Sign this petition in support of better access to services we need to manage our health and plan our families.
• Help counter misinformation by sharing this blog.
• Snap a photo petition selfie and share it on social media using the tag #BeTheVoiceSC.