A new bill introduced in the South Carolina Legislature would require that if the state bans abortion care, it must pay all costs associated with birthing and raising children born as a result.
SB 928, dubbed the “Pro-Birth Accountability Act,” is a retort to the swath of legislators across the country attempting to force women to give birth to unwanted or nonviable pregnancies against their will.
The bill states: “Just as South Carolina may not constitutionally use a citizen’s rental property without just compensation, it may not constitutionally require a woman to incubate a child without appropriate compensation.”
Restrictive abortion laws are a tactic of Christian supremacists to effectively overturn Roe v. Wade, which affirmed the legal right to abortion in 1973. This is a critical state/church issue because these laws are based on the dogmatic religious belief that ensoulment takes place at conception. People who oppose abortion should not have one, but they also have no right to use their positions of power to inject religion into our secular laws. And if they do, South Carolina SB 928 contends, the state ought to be accountable for the financial repercussions of that forced pregnancy.
This bill is currently in front of the Senate Committee on Medical Affairs — and the members need to hear from South Carolina constituents in support of this bill. Please click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
