South Carolina Republican Rep. Makes Emotional Comment Opposing Abortion Law

South Carolina Rep. Neil Collins spoke at a House Judiciary Committee meeting in Columbia on Aug. 16 about the real-world impact of the state’s “fetal heartbeat” abortion ban on women in the state. Collins is a Republican and voted yes. South Carolina’s Fetal Heartbeat and Abortion Protection Act requires all abortions to be performed six weeks after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Prohibited. The bill was signed in February 2021 and entered into force on June 27, 2022. After a federal judge lifted the injunction blocking the execution. Collins began by reciting statistics on women’s health and maternal mortality in South Carolina. South Carolina consistently ranks among the worst in the United States. She then described the case of a 19-year-old woman who was denied an abortion for a non-viable fetus and was discharged. From the hospital for state fetal heart rate bills. Collins was contacted by a local doctor to talk about the incident. There’s a 50% chance it’s more than 50% There’s a 10% chance she’ll develop sepsis and she’ll die herself It’s weighing on me I vote yes for that bill and have meetings about this…I couldn’t sleep that whole week,” Collins said. “Out of respect for the process, I will not be voting today. However, I would like to make it clear that I, and many others, are not in a position to vote for this bill unless there are substantial changes to the bill,” Collins said. Collins’ comments were made during a meeting of the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee on South Carolina House Bill 5399, which would make abortion in the state without exception rape or incest. It was to amend the South Carolina code to ban it. The House Judiciary Committee voted to move the bill to the House floor. Collins and several others abstained.Credit: South Carolina State House via Storyful