SC abortion bill dead, legislators fail to reach compromise

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Senate and House negotiators failed to reach a compromise on abortion Wednesday. Lawmakers will have to wait until next year to introduce new legislation and start the process again.

The six-member conference committee approved a bill that banned abortion along party lines. This was done over the assertions from Senate GOP Leader Shane Massey that a restrictive bill would not pass the Senate.

Massey later said after House members failed to show up to the conference committee, “You’ve got amateurs over there playing legislative strategy, and they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Wednesday’s legislative stalling led to Senators voting to adjourn with House and Senate negotiators failing to reach compromise on abortion legislation ahead of Sunday’s deadline to pass in both chambers.

House Speaker Murrell Smith said, “The bill is dead.”

SC abortion bill update: Six-member conference committee approved a bill that bans abortion from conception along party lines, despite Senate GOP Leader Shane Massey’s repeated assertions that restrictive a bill can’t pass the Senate. The bill is now under debate in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/nluco3f0nk
— Mary Green (@MaryGreenNews) November 9, 2022

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