US state mulls death penalty for women who get abortion

More than 20 Republican lawmakers in South Carolina have proposed a bill that would classify women who have had abortions as murderers and eligible for death penalty by redefining life to include an unborn fetus.

The South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023 aims to redefine "person" to include "an unborn child at any state of development and to ensure that an unborn child who is a victim of assault is afforded equal protection under the assault laws of the state" and "to abolish abortion in this state as a legal act".

Abortion is legal in the state until 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy.

The bill provides an exception for a pregnant woman who has had an abortion "because she was compelled to do so by the threat of imminent death or great bodily injury".

The bill was written by Representative Rob Harris, a registered nurse, and has 21 sponsors after two representatives withdrew their sponsorship.

US Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, drew attention to the bill on March 10 in the House of Representatives, calling it a "deeply disturbing" trend.

"To see this debate go to the dark places, the dark edges, where it has gone on both sides of the aisle, has been deeply disturbing to me as a woman, as a female legislator, as a mom, and as a victim of rape. I was raped as a teenager at the age of 16," Mace said. "This debate ought to be a bipartisan debate where we balance the rights of women and we balance the right to life."

Opposing the bill

Some pro-life activists also opposed the bill.

"We oppose penalties for mothers, who are a second victim of a predatory abortion industry," Kristi Hamrick, the chief media and policy strategist for Students for Life of America, told The Guardian newspaper in the UK. "We want to see a billion-dollar industry set up to profit by preying on women and the pre-born held accountable. The pro-life movement as a whole has been very clear on this."

A spokesperson for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion rights group, voiced the same view. The organization unequivocally rejects prosecution of the pregnant person, The Guardian reported.

In Texas, a bill is proposed to amend the state laws to redefine "individual" to include "an unborn child at every stage of development from fertilization until birth" in the state's penal code.

News reports on South Carolina's bill have attracted more than 2,000 comments on Yahoo, with a vast majority condemning it.

Agencies contributed to this story.