COLUMBIA, S.C. (Washington Insider Magazine)– Republicans are expected to clash during the next Senate debate in South Carolina on a proposed abortion ban which would no longer incorporate an exemption for pregnancies brought on by rape or incest.
One side includes a core group which considers any abortion to be the end of a life. On the other hand, conservatives who have taken into account events overseas after Roe v. Wade was overruled claim they oppose forcing rape victims who are 14 years old to become mothers or compelling mothers to carry unviable foetuses to term.
On Wednesday morning, the Senate is scheduled to begin debating. Despite having recently attempted to wrap up such debates in grueling one-day sessions, senators have been informed that the processes might last days, according to ABC NEWS.
As the more conservative Republicans eliminated the exemptions for incest and rape from a legislation that cleared the House last week, Democrats on the Senate Medical Affairs Committee assisted set up the standoff on Tuesday. They declined to cast their votes. Additionally, the ban would be sent back to the House if the Senate passes it.
Making “an awful bill a very bad bill” won’t help Democrats get Republicans out of a corner they created for themselves, according to Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto.
Prior to some Republicans maneuvering a series of votes to provide abortions for incest and rape victims up to the 12th week of pregnancy, the similar bill without the exemptions seemed to fail in the more conservative state House last week.
The proximity of any vote in the Senate may be predicted by the outcome of the committee meeting on Tuesday. 2 Republicans joined all the Democrats in the 9-8 voting of the Medical Affairs Committee.
Democrats also rejected additional amendments put forth by Republican Senator Tom Davis, who has been adamant for weeks that the legislation must be changed from being a total prohibition in order for him to support it.
They included expanding access to contraceptives and incorporating birth control into the state’s abstinence-based sex education programme, as well as ensuring that a doctor can administer the abortion if it is found that a foetus has a medical issue that won’t allow it to live.
These suggestions might be discussed on the Senate floor together with a review of the rape and incest exemptions.
Davis and colleague Republican Sen. Richard Cash clashed in the committee meeting, giving a possible preview of the argument that will take place on the Senate floor. Cash has spent his 5 years in the Senate working to ban all abortions.
Since many weeks ago, Davis has maintained that if the state intends to ban almost all abortions, it must ensure that mothers receive sufficient prenatal care and that the additional infants who are born receive assistance with child care and education.
In the state Senate, there are 30 Republicans and 16 Democrats.
In South Carolina, the legislation would ban abortions apart from instances in which the mother’s life is in danger. The bill also had exclusions for rape and incest-related pregnancies until they were removed. When this happens, the doctor must inform the victim that the rape will be reported and that the county sheriff will have her name within 24 hours after the procedure. In certain situations, the law would only have permitted abortions up to 12 weeks post conception.
Abortions are presently banned in South Carolina after cardiac activity in a foetus is detected, which typically occurs at around 6 weeks. However, the South Carolina Supreme Court has halted that law while it examines whether it infringes on the state’s constitutional right to privacy. The only remaining standard is South Carolina’s earlier 20-week abortion ban.
