South Carolina Proposes Legislation that Requires Ultrasounds, Bans Aborting Babies with Heartbeats
- Updated Jan 15, 2019
Last Week, South Carolina introduced a bill that would make aborting a baby with a fetal heartbeat illegal.
According to Lifesite News, the H. 3020 bill, which was introduced last Monday, requires all women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound to see if a fetal heartbeat can be detected. If a heartbeat is found and the patient wishes to go through with the abortion without having a “physical medical threat,” the doctor who performs the procedure can be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to two years in jail.
Founder and CEO of Coastline Women’s Health Center Jeannie Smith praised the proposed legislation in an interview with WMBF saying, “This would hopefully bring an end to abortion in the state of South Carolina.”
South Carolina Representative, Steven Long (R-SC) agreed with Smith saying, “We have a moral obligation to defend life.” He continued, “The court system is primed and ready for a good piece of pro-life legislation. Now is the time we need to be pushing and fighting to get legislation like this passed.”
Others, however, see the bill as an “attack” on women’s rights, LifeSite News reports.
The bill is currently pending before the Judiciary Committee.
Photo courtesy: Rose Elena/Unsplash
