Abortion death penalty bill is ‘lunacy’, SC Governor says

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - While in the Upstate for the groundbreaking of a new manufacturing facility, Governor Henry McMaster weighed in on a proposal to make abortions punishable as homicides in South Carolina.

“That idea is lunacy,” McMaster said. “We will never do that in this state.”

The South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023 was introduced in the House in January. Rep. Rob Harris of Spartanburg County is the lead sponsor on the bill which, if passed, would enact penalties for women who get abortions that range from 30 years in prison to the death sentence.

McMaster, a staunch proponent of pro-life legislation who signed South Carolina’s Fetal Heartbeat Bill into law, said the proposal goes too far.

“That’s one that will not see the light of day,” McMaster said. “It does not make sense. I think it’s lunacy. We’ve never had anything like that in our state before. I don’t know if any other state has had something like it back in the whole history of the country but no one that I know wants to criminalize women.”

Women who solicit illegal abortions in South Carolina already face up to two years in prison and a $1,000 fine.

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