FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2016
[email protected]
Proposal Would Ban Abortion After 20 Weeks, Further Limiting Access to Basic Reproductive Health Service
NARAL Pro-Choice America today called on South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to veto an abortion ban that recently passed the state legislature. The bill, HB 3114, would ban abortion after 20 weeks without an adequate exception for women’s health. Similar bans in other states have all been found unconstitutional by courts.
In a letter, NARAL urged Gov. Haley to stand up for the health and autonomy of South Carolina women and veto the bill.
“H.B. 3114 is clearly an attempt to curb access to care for women in the most desperate of circumstances,” wrote Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. “While you and I may not agree on the question of legal abortion, we should at least agree that no woman should be denied options when faced with a tragic pregnancy outcome. Instead of focusing on divisive restrictions, we can and should seek a common ground.”
Even before this current abortion ban passed the state legislature, women across South Carolina have faced significant challenges in accessing abortion care. In a 2016 report, NARAL found that 93 percent of South Carolina counties have no abortion clinic and that lower-income and younger populations across the state face restrictions that limit their access to abortion care. Upon official receipt of HB 3114, Gov. Haley will have 5 days in which to sign or veto the bill. View the full text of the letter here.
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