Two Democrats voted in favor of the ban and two Republicans voted against it. “The government not having any business mandating face masks sounds to me real close to the government not having any business telling a woman what to do with her body,” Cobb-Hunter said. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg, a Democrat and the House’s longest-serving member at 29 years, criticized the South Carolina General Assembly for making the abortion bill a priority over education, several CCP virus bills. “We more firmly believe that we are here to take care of people.” “We don’t believe that life begins when science says it does not,” he added. “We care about life, we care about people eating, people not dying because they can’t get vaccines, people not dying because they can’t get tests.” “The Democratic caucus is not going to participate in this farce of a vote about pretend life,” the Democratic lawmaker continued. And yet in this very body, we serve with people that believe that the government should not make people wear masks,” Rutherford said. “One of the speakers yesterday said 8,000 people in this state have died because of COVID-19. South Carolina House Democrats walk out as an abortion bill is debated in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. Todd Rutherford from Richland shared his viewpoint, comparing the “fetal heartbeat bill” with lives lost from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic and the opioid crisis, calling Republican lawmakers hypocritical for not mandating masks. Most House Democrats walked out in protest of the bill shortly after Rep.

David Hiott of Pickens said the bill is the “greatest pro-life bill this state has ever passed.” Many state senators spoke in favor of the legislation and also cheered after the vote. “I do believe in a moral absolute of right and wrong, and the shedding of innocent blood is a moral evil we need to turn away from.” “From the moment life begins, it should be protected, as an inalienable right under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments,” Republican Sen. Melissa Lackey Oremus, R-Aiken, speaks in favor of an abortion bill as it is debated in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. South Carolina senators have over the years reintroduced multiple bills seeking to ban abortions in the state and potentially make it a crime to get one. The bill will not punish a pregnant woman for having an illegal abortion but the person who performed the abortion could be charged with a felony, sentenced up to two years, and fined $10,000 if found guilty. If a heartbeat is detected, the abortion can only be performed if the health of the mother is at risk-or in case of rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomalies that could lead to the infant’s death. The new bill will require doctors to use ultrasound on a pregnant woman to try and find a detectable fetal heartbeat before the abortion can continue, according to a statement from the South Carolina General Assembly. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Columbia, S.C., on Nov. Henry McMaster speaks to a crowd during an election night party for Sen. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been to passing into law the most comprehensive pro-life legislation our state has ever seen,” McMaster tweeted in January. During a press conference Wednesday, the governor called the bill “one of the most pro-life in the country.” South Carolina Gov. McMaster has promised to sign the bill as soon as he can and after the House will give it a final procedural vote on Thursday, which is unlikely to change the outcome. Henry McMaster repeatedly backed the abortion ban as one of his biggest focuses since being sworn-in to office in 2017. Many officials considered the “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act” a top priority. The legislation passed 79–35 votes in favor in the Republican majority House who have gained three seats during the elections last year.

South Carolina lawmakers passed a “fetal heartbeat bill” on Wednesday that will ban most abortions in the state after the pregnancy is about six weeks in. David Hiott, R-Pickens, says a prayer as the House votes on a bill that would ban most abortions in the state in Columbia, S.C., on Feb.

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