Abortion and Miscarriage Could Classify as Homicide Under Proposed SC Bill 3537
The Prenatal Equal Protection Act is a currently pending bill in the South Carolina House, and is in the Committee on Judiciary. This bill, if passed, will redefine “person” to include unborn children.
This would mean that if a pregnant person intentionally or unintentionally ended their pregnancy they could be charged with homicide. It would also be changed so unborn children would be protected under assault charges as well.
Miscarriages, according to the National Institute of Health, occur in 15-20 percent of pregnancies clinically recognized. A miscarriage is considered an unexpected ending of a pregnancy within the first 20 weeks of gestation.
Miscarriages can happen for many reasons such as infection, hormonal imbalance, how old you are and uterine imbalance to just name a few. Pregnant people’s pre-existing illnesses can also potentially affect pregnancy – such as thyroid disease and congenital heart disease.
Miscarriages are common and it is a horrifying thought that a pregnant person could potentially be punished for it. In South Carolina murder is punishable with a minimum prison sentence of 30 years, but people can also receive life in prison or death. If this bill passes, people who have a miscarriage could potentially be sentenced to death.
The government should not have the right to rule a person’s miscarriage as homicide and then take away their life for it.
We also need to examine whether or not a fetus should be labeled as a person. This question is so personal for everyone. For some it’s at conception and for others it’s closer to when a heartbeat is detected.
If scientists can not even agree on when personhood should be recognized, why should the government have the right too?
In South Carolina, abortion is legal before six weeks and in special circumstances such as to save the pregnant person’s life, if it risks the pregnant person’s physical health, if the fetus is not expected to survive the pregnancy and in cases of rape or incest.
This bill could also affect pregnant people’s access to medically needed abortions. Would doctors be allowed to administer abortions to save the pregnant person’s life or would the life of the unborn be held over the pregnant person’s?
We can not be entirely sure about what would happen if this bill passed. It could potentially affect the current abortion law or it could be left as is. The only thing that is guaranteed is that pregnant people would be more at risk.
An accident like falling down the stairs and then miscarrying could result in a court case where the future of the pregnant person is in the hands of a judge.