**South Carolina Lawmakers Consider Harshest Abortion Restrictions and Punishments in the Nation**
*COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)* — South Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill that would impose some of the strictest abortion prohibitions and penalties in the United States. The proposal includes sentencing women who undergo abortions to decades in prison, outlawing intrauterine devices (IUDs), and sharply restricting in-vitro fertilization (IVF). The bill faces a challenging legislative journey and uncertain prospects, even if it clears the state Senate subcommittee currently reviewing it.
### What’s in the Bill?
The proposed legislation seeks to ban all abortions unless the woman’s life is at risk, eliminating exceptions for rape and incest victims up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Currently, South Carolina law bans abortions after cardiac activity is detected—typically around six weeks, often before many women realize they are pregnant.
This new proposal would go even further by:
– Imposing prison terms of up to 30 years for women who get an abortion and anyone who assists them.
– Banning any contraception methods that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, effectively outlawing IUDs.
– Severely limiting the use of in-vitro fertilization.
– Making it illegal to provide information about abortions, causing concern among doctors who worry they could face legal consequences for advising patients about legal abortion options elsewhere.
OB-GYN Dr. Natalie Gregory expressed grave concerns about the bill, stating that passing such a measure would turn routine discussions about contraception, pregnancy loss, and IVF into a “legal minefield,” potentially putting healthcare providers at risk of long prison sentences.
> “It constitutes an unconstitutional reach that threatens the very fabric of health care in our state,” Gregory said during an eight-hour public hearing on the bill last month. She added that the proposal represents both a waste of time and public resources.
### Division Among Abortion Opponents
The bill has also caused a split among South Carolina’s abortion opponents, a group that once united behind the state’s six-week abortion ban passed in 2021—a trigger law set to take effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned *Roe v. Wade* in 2022.
South Carolina Citizens for Life, one of the state’s oldest and largest anti-abortion organizations, publicly opposed the bill during last month’s hearing. The group argued that women who get abortions are victims themselves and should not be subjected to punishment.
Conversely, more hardline groups like Equal Protection South Carolina support the bill. Mark Corral, the group’s founder, proclaimed, “Abortion is murder and should be treated as such.”
### Historical Messaging Keeps Opponents Divided
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California at Davis and a well-known abortion law scholar, explained that the division among abortion opponents stems from longstanding messaging strategies. Traditionally, anti-abortion groups labeled the procedure as murder but avoided punishing women.
Ziegler classifies groups advocating for harsher penalties and restrictions as “abolitionists.” These groups have gained influence in reshaping laws in conservative states and shifting the broader political landscape, emboldening them to push policies that lack broad public support but resonate with their base.
> “It’s not going to go away. The trajectory keeps shifting and the abolitionists have more influence,” Ziegler said.
She added that as U.S. social and political conversations shift rightward—with debates resurfacing over issues like same-sex marriage and women’s roles in society—it has become easier to advance restrictions that might previously have been unthinkable.
> “There is more breathing room for abolitionists now,” she noted.
### The Bill’s Prospects in the South Carolina Legislature
A similar bill was introduced in the South Carolina House of Representatives last year but stalled after a public hearing. Republican House leaders expressed satisfaction with the current law, and no further action was taken.
In the Senate, however, the political landscape is less predictable. Since the existing law was passed, nine of the chamber’s 34 Republicans have been newly elected. Notably, three of these newcomers defeated the Senate’s only Republican women—known as the “Sister Senators”—who previously worked together to block a stricter abortion ban after *Roe v. Wade* was overturned.
Senator Richard Cash, the bill’s sponsor and one of the Senate’s strongest anti-abortion voices, is leading Tuesday’s subcommittee hearing. Last month, Cash acknowledged concerns about the potential ban on contraception and restrictions on doctors’ ability to counsel patients but has yet to indicate what changes might be forthcoming.
The Senate subcommittee reviewing the bill contains six Republicans among its nine members. However, Republican Senate leaders have emphasized that even if the bill passes the subcommittee, it may not advance further.
> “I can say this definitively there has been not only no decision made to bring up that bill, there’s been no discussion about bringing up that bill,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said.
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As South Carolina grapples with this highly contentious bill, the debate reflects broader national tensions around abortion rights, reproductive healthcare, and the role of government in personal medical decisions. The outcome of this legislative session could have significant impacts on women’s health access in the state for years to come.
https://ktar.com/national-news/south-carolina-looks-at-most-restrictive-abortion-bill-in-the-us-as-opponents-keep-pushing-limits/5777259/
