The Women's Rights and Empowerment Network today released the following statement after a South Carolina House Judiciary Committee voted to send a near total abortion ban that does not include exceptions for pregnancies' caused by rape or incest to the State House floor: “The Women's Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN) joins reproductive freedom advocates and organizations across the state in speaking out against bans that restrict access to abortion and strip people of their right to decide what happens to their bodies and their lives.
Today, members of the House Judiciary Committee voted to pass H.5399, which will outlaw all abortions in South Carolina. Under this proposed legislation, the only time an abortion may take place is if the pregnant person is at the brink of death.
As Judiciary Committee members debated the many consequences of the proposed legislation, many insisted that they are only at the beginning of this process and need to hear from their constituents in advance of the next vote on the House floor. WREN urges every single person to take them up on this invitation: reach out to them immediately and tell them to vote NO on H 5399. https://p2a.co/lzslzjs
Ann Warner, Chief Executive Officer of WREN, states, “The outcome of today's committee vote shows disrespect for the people of South Carolina who have not had sufficient opportunity to understand and weigh in on what's at stake with the proposed extreme abortion ban. Our state began enforcing the six-week abortion ban only a few weeks ago, and it is simply unfathomable why legislators would want to rush through an even more dangerous and radical ban at this point. Their votes to advance this dangerous bill indicate that they don't really care about our opinions or our lives. We must make sure they hear from us now.”
This is an urgent moment in the fight for reproductive rights, and WREN will continue to educate advocates and provide channels people to use their voices to speak up against abortion bans.”
