‘Right to Life Act of South Carolina’ [S.111 / H.3213]
Republican State Senators refuse to pass South Carolina's pro-life bill
to end "legalized" abortion
by Steve Lefemine, pro-life missionary
director, Columbia Christians for Life
www.ChristianLifeandLiberty.net
http://www.righttolifeactofsc.net/
The Right to Life Act of South Carolina could also be called SC’s “Personhood for the Unborn” bill.
The bill recognizes the legal “personhood” of all pre-birth human beings, at fertilization. It would ban all “legalized” child-murder-by-abortion, because the SC State Constitution, in Article I., Section 3., already protects legal “persons” from being deprived of life without due process of law, and S.111 / H.3213, in the bills’ original forms (i.e., without any so-called “exceptions”), would inarguably place all pre-birth human beings in the same protected status. In the text of the Roe v. Wade decision 33 years ago, the Supreme Court said that if personhood for the “fetus” [unborn child] was established, then the case for abortion would collapse (http://www.findlaw.com/).
With the 2006 session of the SC Legislature scheduled to end on June 1, unless the SC Senate takes action on the version that passed the SC House in 2005 (H.3213), the bill will die, and the 6,500+ children murdered every year in South Carolina by surgical abortion will have to wait until the 2007 session for new legislation to pass, at the earliest.
Incredibly, even though H.3213 passed the House on Second Reading on April 13, 2005 by a vote of 95 Yeas to 18 Nays (albeit with a fatal flaw rape exception amendment that must be removed), the bill has gone nowhere in the Senate after two public hearings in May 2005 before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee chaired by Senator Jim Ritchie (R-Spartanburg). H.3213 has sat in this Subcommittee for over one year, even though Republicans outnumber Democrats 4 to 1 ! This includes Senator Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston), chairman of the full Judiciary Committee. With just days left in the 2006 session, unless something changes, and quickly, the bill will die June 1.
The RTL Act of SC was first filed in 1998, by Rep. Terry Haskins in the House, and by Senator Mike Fair in the Senate. It has been an active bill in the House every year since, the current sponsor being Rep. Ralph Davenport. The Republicans have been the majority in control of the House consistently now for 12 years beginning in 1995. House Republican leaders had opposed the bill for years, or not supported it. Then, in early 2005, the SC Attorney General issued a legal opinion that the RTL Act of SC was constitutional on its face, though if applied to abortion, would have to be adjudicated. The bill finally passed the House in April 2005, and went over to the Senate. If the Senate refuses to take action to pass the Right to Life Act of SC by June 1, the responsibility must rightly be placed at the feet of those Senators who are members of the political party that is now in power, the REPUBLICANS :
The Republicans are the majority in the SC House (74 Republicans to 50 Democrats).
The Republicans are the majority in the SC Senate (26 Republicans to 20 Democrats).
The Republicans in SC currently occupy the Governor's office, the Lieutenant Governor's office, and the Attorney General's office.
It is the Republicans who are the majority in the State Senate who are responsible for refusing to take action to pass the Right to Life Act of SC, and who will therefore be responsible for prolonging child-killing in our state.
You can see the text and SC Legislator co-sponsors of bills H.3213 and S.111 from the homepage link at: http://www.christianlifeandliberty.net/, or go to the SC Legislative website at: http://www.scstatehouse.net/ .
If you support banning the heinous crime of child-murder-by-abortion in South Carolina, then please call your own State Senator, and Senator Fair (Senate sponsor of S.111, 864-246-4257 / 803-212-6420), and Senator Ritchie (864-585-2275 / 803-212-6032), and Senator McConnell (843-747-7554 / 803-212-6610), and Governor Mark Sanford (803-734-2100). Ask them all to work for passage of the Right to Life Act of SC by June 1, without any amendments for “exceptions.” For further questions, call CCL at 803-765-0916.
- End -
Note: Formatted, double-spaced, two-page version of the above Opinion Editorial may be obtained from Columbia Christians for Life at: CCL@ChristianLifeandLiberty.net
No comments:
Post a Comment