February 9, 2018
Too often when a new bill is introduced that would restrict women’s access to abortion care services, people forget how many barriers already exist in our state.
Since the 2005/2006 South Carolina legislative session, 99 harmful sexual and reproductive health bills have been introduced in our state. These laws tend to pressure women and coerce them against having an abortion – like mandating so-called informed consent laws and imposing a 24-hour waiting period before the procedure is performed.
Politicians are now trying to pass laws that would charge doctors with a crime for using one of the safest and only methods of care after 13 weeks.
A current abortion method ban bill has already passed through the South Carolina House and will be before a Senate subcommittee next week. This bill seeks to outlaw the most common surgical technique for abortions after 13 weeks, making it harder for women to obtain access to abortion care.
This method ban bill takes away access to abortion services that can be safely provided in an office, clinic, or operating room as early as 13 weeks into a pregnancy. The risk of major complications is less than 1%. Doctors would have to resort to alternatives that may not be what they, based on their professional medical judgment, think is best for their patient.
According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), restrictions like the method ban “represent legislative interference at its worst: doctors will be forced, by ill-advised, unscientifically motivated policy, to provide lesser care to patients.”
Let’s be clear: if laws like this pass, doctors would be forced to deny women access to a standard of care that is safest and best option for many women. We must put women’s health before any personal beliefs or agendas.
Now is the time for you to #BeTheVoiceSC in support of full access to reproductive health services:
Stay tuned for further updates.
Back to All UpdatesAugust 24, 2018
As the country faces a new Supreme Court judge who has a history of hostility towards reproductive health and rights, we are reminded that while people in this country do have a right to abortion, that right is often in name only due to unattainable access. Recently the New York Times wrote an article explaining… Read more »
Read MoreJune 27, 2018
Attitudes are changing. The support for abortion rights is record-high, according to a new poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal. Fifty-five percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, which is the highest level of support since the poll began asking the question in 2003. And… Read more »
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