Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 17:47:04 -0500
From: Columbia Christians for Life
CCFL@sc-online.netSubject: UPDATE on "Right to Life Act of South Carolina" (H.3213/S.111)
UPDATE on "Right to Life Act of South Carolina" (H.3213/S.111) - March 4____________________________________
South Carolina's pro-life bill to end "legalized" abortion.
Important co-sponsor added this past week (SC Speaker of the House);
total SC House bill increased to a highest-ever,
36 co-sponsors.
Note: Columbia Christians for Life and Voice of the Unborn are the only
Christian pro-life organizations in the state of South Carolina lobbying for passage of the Right to Life Act of SC to
end "legalized" abortion in South Carolina. The help of principled Christian pro-lifers is needed to support this effort, as most of the "pro-life" and Republican "Establishment", incredibly, is not behind this effort to bring a halt to government-protected child-murder. As has been said, the proper response to murder is
justice, not "regulation". Please help us
establish justice for all human beings, including unborn children !
SC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:Rep. Ralph Davenport (R-Spartanburg) and Rep. Lewis Vaughn (R-Greenville)are the primary co-sponsors of this bill.
As of 3/2/05, there was a total of 36 co-sponsors (last year there were 34 co-sponors). See link to the text of bill H.3213 at www.christianlifeandliberty.net or go to SC Legislative website at:www.scstatehouse.net/sess116_2005-2006/bills/3213.htmThese are the names of the 36 SC House members who are co-sponsors of H.3213:Sponsors: Reps. Davenport, Vaughn, Toole, Tripp, Vick, Simrill, Bingham, J.R. Smith, Rice, Talley, G. Brown, Barfield, Owens, M.A. Pitts, G.R. Smith, Hamilton, White, Clark, Walker, Pinson, Loftis, Leach, McGee, W.D. Smith, Viers, Cato, Perry, Delleney, Altman, Cooper,Haskins, Huggins, Littlejohn, Hiott, Mahaffey, and Wilkins
[36 total: 34 R, 2 D]The South Carolina Legislature returned on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 to begin a new legislative session.
The "Right to Life Act of South Carolina", if passed by the Republican-majority SC General Assembly, and signed by Republican SC Governor Mark Sanford,
would recognize the God-given, legal "personhood" of pre-birth human beings at fertilization under Article I., Section 3. of the South Carolina State Constitution, thereby ending so-called "legalized" abortion (child-murder) in South Carolina. The RTL Act of SC would
"establish justice" for pre-birth human beings by establishing "THAT THE RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS AND THE RIGHT TO EQUAL PROTECTION VEST AT FERTILIZATION." The SC State Constitution already protects legal "persons" from being deprived of their lives "without due process of law," or from being "denied the equal protection of the laws."--------------------------------------
Progress and Status of RTL Act of South Carolina:1. An important co-sponsor of H.3213 in the SC House was added on Wed., 3/2/05 - SC Speaker of the House, Rep. David Wilkins (R-Greenville); bringing the total number for the House bill to a highest-ever, 36 co-sponsors. This is the first time since the RTL Act of SC was first introduced in 1998 that Rep. Wilkins has been a co-sponsor. It happened after a woman in Greenville called his law office, and asked him to sign on as a co-sponsor. Praise the Lord !2. We are still seeking a 'date' to our request through Rep. Davenport (R), one of the House bill's two primary sponsors, to request a mid-March public hearing. Next week is the floor debate on the SC state budget (which includes selected surgical abortion funding in the SC State Health Plan and HHS (thru Medicaid) sections) in the SC House; so the soonest it could take place, if granted, would be the following week. Please pray for the scheduling soon of a public hearing for H.3213 (the House bill), and that we would preferably get at least two weeks notice of the hearing date to plan and arrange for speakers. This is expected to be in the Constitutional Laws Subcommittee, of the full House Judiciary Committee, held in the Blatt Office Building (5th floor) on the SC State House grounds in Columbia (near intersection of Assembly and Pendleton Streets).[Legislative History: The bill failed by a vote of 4-1 in subcommittee on
April 25, 2001. The bill passed in subcommittee by a vote of 2-0 on
April 15, 2004; and then failed the next week (after a fraudulent voice vote) in the Judiciary Committee on
April 20, 2004.]
3. The Constitutional Laws Subcommittee has five members; at present, only one of those five members has signed onto the Right to Life Act of SC (H.3213) as a co-sponsor, namely, Rep. Greg Delleney (R-Chester), who is the chairman of the Con Laws Subcommittee; however, none of the other four Constitutional Laws Subcommittee members are presently co-sponsors.The other four members of the Con Laws Subcomm are:Rep. Jim Harrison (R-Columbia) Rep. Ben Hagood (R-Mount Pleasant/Charleston) Rep. Fletcher Smith (D-Greenville) Rep. Creighton Coleman (D-Winnsboro)[The contact information for Harrison, Hagood, Harrison, Fletcher Smith, and Coleman is provided further below.]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Most Immediate Action Items: [ this is what
YOU can do to help pass H.3213
]1. For those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, pray that God would turn the hearts of all five Con Laws Subcomm. members (3 R's, 2 D's) to support the RTL Act of SC - at present only the chairman, Rep. Delleney is a co-sponsor2. Contact the remaining four members of the Con Laws Subcomm. and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor, especially if you live in their SC House district. Even if you do not live in their district, please at least send them an e-mail, or maybe even a telephone call, and express your support for the RTL Act of SC, and that you would like to see them sign on as a co-sponsor of H.3213. The addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails of the other four Con Laws members are below, for:*
Ben Hagood (R-Mount Pleasant)
*
Jim Harrison (R-Columbia) [Rep. Harrison is also chair of the full Judiciary Committee]
*
Fletcher Smith (D-Greenville) [Rep. Smith was the only legislator to vote for the bill in the
April 2001 Con Laws Subcomm. meeting when it failed 4-1 with three Republicans voting against the Right to Life Act]
*
Rep. Creighton Coleman (D-Winnsboro)
3. Spread the word to your pro-life friends; send this e-mail to your pro-life (only) e-mail list. Do not send this to those who are pro-abortion in principle or practice [note: the executive director of SC Citizens for Life (SC's manifestation of the National Right to Life stronghold) has worked against passage of this bill]At the
end of this e-mail are two Attachments:
Attachment H3213-06 has
sample letters which can be used to send to SC Legislators.
Attachment H3213-18 is a
one-page flyer for you to print out and hand-out to friends, family, and church goers to mobilize their phone calls, letters, e-mails, and faxes toSC Legislators in support of this bill to end so-called "legalized" child-murder-by-abortionin South Carolina (over 300,000 pre-birth children have been murdered by surgical abortion alone within South Carolina's borders since 1973.
___________________________
Please call / e-mail / write / fax Rep's Jim Harrison, Ben Hagood, Fletcher Smith, and Creighton Coleman, as soon as possible (NLT than Monday,March 14th), and urge them to support the Right to Life Act of SC. Ask them to co-sponsor;it is rightfully their first moral duty as civil ministers, to prevent the shedding of innocent blood !Their foremost individual responsibility, is to rule in the fear of God, to "Kiss theSon, lest He be angry,..." (2 Samuel 23:3, Psalm 2:10-12; Romans 13:4).God's Word is true for all men, for all nations, for all time (Matthew 4:4).
Contact Information for SC House Representatives: Hagood (R), Harrison (R), Fletcher Smith (D), and Coleman (D):Representative Ben A. Hagood, Jr. District 112 - Charleston Co.Contact Address:Fax: 843-972-1005 (H) P.O. Box 220, Mount Pleasant, 29465
Bus. (843)972-1000 Home (843) 883-9078
(C) 306D Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29211
Bus. (803)734-2950
E-Mail Address:
HagoodB@scstatehouse.netRepresentative James H. HarrisonDistrict 75 - Richland Co.Contact Address:Fax: 803-734-9945 and 803-252-7145 (H) 533 Autumn Circle Columbia, 29206
Bus. (803)256-0049 Home (803) 782-6988
(C) 512 Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29211
Bus. (803)734-3120 Home (803) 782-6988
E-Mail Address:
HJU@scstatehouse.netRepresentative Fletcher N. Smith, Jr. District 23 - Greenville Co.Contact Address:Fax: 864-232-6756 (H) 28 Allendale Lane, Greenville, 29607
Bus. (864)232-6541 Home (864) 235-8652
(C) 330C Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29211
Bus. (803)734-3059
E-Mail Address:
FNS@scstatehouse.netRepresentative Creighton B. ColemanDistrict 41 - Chester & Fairfield Cos.Contact Address:Fax: 803-635-9228 (H) 125 S. Garden St., Winnsboro, 29180
Bus. (803)635-6884 Home (803) 635-7066
(C) 422A Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29211
Bus. (803)734-3140
E-Mail Address:
cbc@scstatehouse.net---------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL HOUSE MEMBERS MAILING ADDRESS:You may also write any Member of the House at:
Post Office Box 11867Columbia, S.C. 29211-1867ALL HOUSE MEMBERS FAX NUMBER:You may also fax any Member of the House at (make sure
"To:" their name is included):
803-734-2925________________________________
If the Republicans are supposed to be pro-life, and
since the Republicans have been in the majority in the South Carolina House of Representatives
for the last ten years, since 1995,
then why is it that the Right to Life Act of SC, has never yet even made it out of thefull House Judiciary Committee (chaired by bill-opponent Rep. Jim Harrison (R) in the first SEVEN YEARS that it has been introduced (1998 through 2004) ??? The bill did pass the Constitutional Laws Subcommittee by a vote of 2 - 0 on April 15, 2004.
In the 124-member SC House, there are presently
74 Republicans and
50 Democrats;so the allegedly "Pro-life"
Republicans have a 24-vote advantage over the Democrats ! There are presently
36 co-sponsors for H.3213. The goal this year is to seek
50 co-sponsors for the bill; we are now just 14 short of that target.
By way of contrast, the one-man, one-woman marriage bill (H.3133 - a good bill) proposing an amendment to the South Carolina Constitution to provide that "marriage is exclusively defined as the union between one man and one woman," is a bill that is sponsored by
both Rep. Greg Delleney
and Rep. Jim Harrsion. H.3133 was introduced, and given aFirst Reading in the SC House, and assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, on
January 11, 2005. On
February 23, 2005, less than seven weeks later, it was already reported
favorably out of the House Judiciary Committee, which means that it had also earlier made it out of subcommittee (Constitutional Laws Subcommittee).
IF the Republican leadership
want to move the Right to Life Act of South Carolina out of the Constitutional Laws Subcommittee, and favorably out of the House Judiciary Committee,
they can do it.Please call Rep. Jim Harrison and ask him to support the Right to Life Act of SC and stop opposing it, and call
Rep. Greg Delleney and ask him to be a strong advocate for the bill, as he has been for the marriage bill described above, which had already appeared on the full SC House calendar as of Thursday, Feb 24th for floor debate, after just being introduced less than seven weeks earlier ! The marriage amendment bill just passed the SC House by a huge margin of victory; the vote was 96 to 3 in favor (this is wonderful, even though Columbia's pro-Sodom daily newspaper had only a small article on-line the next day:
The State,
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/11027329.htm ), this past Tuesday, March 1st, exactly seven weeks after original introduction on January 11th.
Leadership emphasis on legislation can make a huge difference !The
Right to Life Act of SC was introduced
over seven YEARS ago (in 1998), and has
yet to make it through the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Jim Harrison.
Rep. Harrison has publicly opposed the Right to Life Act of SC since 2001 - voting against it in 2001; and then on April 20, 2004, he conducted a fraudulent voice vote in the House Judiciary Committee, declaring the bill defeated when subsequent interview of individual Judiciary Committee members revealed that the bill should have passed by a vote of 11 "ayes" (in favor of the bill) to 10 "no's" (against the bill). "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,..." Eph. 6:12, KJV
If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour,
please pray that the Right to Life Act of South Carolina, Lord willing, will make it through the SC House this year !
----------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Lefemine,
pro-life missionary
dir., Columbia Christians for Life
CCL lobbyist
Columbia, SC
www.christianlifeandliberty.netwww.righttolifeactofsc.net(803) 765-0916
____________________________
Below are key excerpts from the text of the "Right to Life Act of South Carolina":www.scstatehouse.net/sess116_2005-2006/bills/3213.htm
www.scstatehouse.net/sess116_2005-2006/bills/111.htmWhereas, Article I, Section 3 of the
Constitution of the State of
South Carolina, 1895,
guarantees that
no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without
due process of law or denied the
equal protection of the laws; and
Section 1-1-320. The right to due process, whereby no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and the right to equal protectionof the laws, both of which
rights are
guaranteed by Article I, Section 3 of the
Constitution of this State, vest at fertilization."_______________________________
For further information, contact Steve Lefemine, dir., Columbia Christians for Life at the CCL ministry office:
CCFL@sc-online.net(803) 765-0916
P.O. Box 50358, Columbia, SC 29250
www.christianlifeandliberty.netTo determine who your SC House and SC Senate members are, look for the SC House district and the SC Senate district numbers on your SC Voters Registration Card, or call your County Election Commission / Voter Registration Office to get those two numbersfor your home's street address. Then you can locate your SC House member and SC Senate member on-line at
www.scstatehouse.net.
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CCFL@sc-online.netIf you would like to help Columbia Christians for Life, or Voice of the Unborn financially,in our efforts to pass principled, biblically and constitutionally based pro-life legislation to
end (not just "regulate") so called "legalized" abortion (government-protected-child-murder) in South Carolina, contributions are welcome, much needed, and can be made as follows:
(Note: There are office administrative costs, photocopying costs, postage costs,and internet costs associated with this campaign to fight for the lives of unborn children. With sufficient financial support, radio commercials promoting the Right to Life Act of SC could be aired, as has been done by Voice of the Unborn, airing wonderfully inspirational radio commercials in support of the SC Unborn Children Monument memorial bill (H.3338), on WIS and WVOC in Columbia, and on WTMA in Charleston. With additional support to Voice of the Unborn, it is possible that radio commercials for the SC Unborn Children Monument memorial bill may also be aired in the Greenville media market.)
Columbia Christians for LifePlease make checks for missionary support to:
"Steve Lefemine"Please make checks for ministry support to:
"Columbia Christians for Life"Mail all contributions (not tax-deductible) to:
Steve Lefemine, or, Columbia Christians for Life,
P.O. Box 50358, Columbia, SC 29250
Voice of the UnbornPlease make checks to either:
"Johnny Gardner" or
"Voice of the Unborn"Mail all contributions (not tax-deductible) to:
Johnny Gardner, or, Voice of the Unborn
120 Amsterdam Drive, Apt. #G
Columbia, SC 29210
(803) 731-0062
ATTACHMENT H3213-06 BELOW HAS SAMPLE LETTERS TO SC LEGISLATORS:
ATTACHMENT H3213-18 BELOW IS A ONE-PAGE FLYER FOR YOU TO PRINT OUTAND HAND-OUT TO FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND CHURCH GOERS TO MOBILIZE THEIRPHONE CALLS, LETTERS, E-MAILS, AND FAXES TO LEGISLATORS IN SUPPORTOF THIS BILL TO END CHILD-MURDER-BY-ABORTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA
