| schema:text
| - As of this writing, it's highly unlikely the bill will pass. When Republican Rep. Rob Harris of South Carolina first introduced the legislation in 2023, the state's Senate majority leader said it had "zero chance of passing." After Harris' bill received national media attention in 2023, 12 of its 24 cosponsors removed their names from it and several said it was because the legislation could allow the death penalty for people who get abortions. The original bill also never made it past its first hurdle.
A Republican lawmaker in South Carolina has proposed a bill that would allow the state to prosecute people who get abortions under its homicide laws. The legislation would include the death penalty.
When state Rep. Rob Harris first introduced a version of his "South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act" in January 2023, it gained national media attention and garnered widespread outrage among abortion-rights advocates. On Dec. 5, 2024, Harris prefiled a similar bill with the same name ahead of South Carolina's legislative session commencing in January 2025. Both versions of Harris' bill seek to include "an unborn child at any stage of development" when defining the word "person" in South Carolina's criminal code. They would also subject people who have abortions to the homicide laws of the state.
The decision to bring back the legislation sparked articles by numerous news outlets including HuffPost and Truthout. Numerous (archived) social media users (archived) made posts (archived) about the proposal, while one X user (archived) went as far as saying it would allow the state to "execute" women.
6 MAGA extremists have intro'd a bill that allows South Carolina to execute women who receive an abortion. If you haven't heard about SC H5357, it's because corporate media has completely ignored it.
Here's the overview, the sponsors, & how to fight back: https://t.co/1iKzJP1B4P
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) December 18, 2024
While it's true Harris' legislation could subject people who get abortions in South Carolina to the death penalty because of the state's homicide laws, it's highly unlikely the bill will pass. It was deeply unpopular when he first introduced it in 2023, and the bill never made it past its first hurdle to become law. If the new version of the act does pass, it's unclear how often prosecutors would seek the death penalty for people who get abortions. Harris had not returned a request for comment from Snopes. We will update this story if we receive a response.
Unpacking the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act
Here's the language used in the 2024 version of the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act (emphasis ours):
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "SOUTH CAROLINA PRENATAL EQUAL PROTECTION ACT" BY ADDING SECTIONS 16-3-6, 16-3-105, 16-3-106, 16-3-107, AND 16-3-108 SO AS TO DEFINE "PERSON" TO INCLUDE AN UNBORN CHILD AT ANY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT, AND TO ENSURE THAT AN UNBORN CHILD WHO IS A VICTIM OF HOMICIDE IS AFFORDED EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE HOMICIDE LAWS OF THE STATE, WITH EXCEPTIONS; BY ADDING SECTIONS 16-3-760, 16-3-761, 16-3-762, AND 16-3-763 SO AS TO DEFINE "PERSON" TO INCLUDE AN UNBORN CHILD AT ANY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT AND TO ENSURE THAT AN UNBORN CHILD WHO IS A VICTIM OF ASSAULT IS AFFORDED EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE ASSAULT LAWS OF THE STATE, WITH EXCEPTIONS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
The proposed legislation would define a "person" as "an unborn child at every stage of development from fertilization until birth." It's unclear how Harris' law would affect in vitro fertilization, which involves fertilizing an egg with sperm outside the body.
Rape and incest resulting in a pregnancy are not listed as exceptions to how the homicide laws apply. The only exceptions outlined in the bill are for the "unintentional death of an unborn child":
Section 16-3-763. (A) This article shall not apply to the unintentional death of an unborn child when resulting from:
(1) the undertaking of life-saving procedures to save the life of a mother when accompanied by reasonable steps, if available, to save the life of her unborn child; or
(2) a spontaneous miscarriage.
(B) Mistake or unintentional error on the part of a licensed physician or other licensed healthcare provider or his or her employee or agent or any person acting on behalf of the patient shall not subject the licensed physician or other licensed healthcare provider or person acting on behalf of the patient to any criminal liability under this article.
South Carolina's law on homicide says "a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to murder must be punished by death, or by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years to life." The state allows for the death penalty when a person is charged with homicide and a court determines during a sentencing proceeding that there was at least one "aggravating circumstance," including "the murder of a child eleven years of age or under."
Presumably, an "unborn child" would fall under the state's law allowing execution for people who commit homicide against a child 11 or younger. Put together, the laws could thus allow people who get abortions to be subject to the death penalty.
However, Harris' legislation is deeply unpopular among many of his colleagues.
When Harris introduced the legislation in 2023, the bill never made it past its first hurdle: a hearing in the state's Judiciary Committee. Based on the 2023 bill page, 12 of its 24 cosponsors — lawmakers who signed on to support the bill — requested that their names be removed from sponsoring the legislation. Several former sponsors told NBC News it was because they did not believe women should receive the death penalty for having an abortion.
The state Senate's majority leader, Republican Shane Massey, said on X (archived) on March 15, 2023, that the original bill had "zero chance of passing."
I get the press needs clicks, but giving front page status to an article that suggests South Carolina could, might, maybe, potentially impose this type of penalty is irresponsible and devoid of credibility. This has zero chance of passing. https://t.co/hQjoHp4iOt
— Shane Massey (@shanemassey) March 15, 2023
Legislation must pass both the state House and Senate and then be signed by the governor to become law.
Snopes asked Massey and South Carolina's House speaker, Republican Rep. Murrell Smith, how likely it was that the bill would be passed in the state's upcoming legislative session. We will update this story if they respond.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)