The South Carolina legislature is quickly approaching the crossover deadline this Thursday, April 7 – and we need your help in the fight against six dangerous bills. These proposals are designed to undermine our civil rights, legalize discrimination against selected groups of South Carolinians, and deny rights guaranteed under the South Carolina and U.S. Constitutions.
- House Bill 1127: South Carolina's proposed abortion ban not only seeks to deny access to abortion care, but would also criminalize the procedure and target health care providers for prosecution. Under the extreme proposal, physicians could be subject to the death penalty for performing an abortion.
- Senate Bill 531: SB 531 singles out transgender women and girls by enacting a sweeping ban on participation in athletics, violating both the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. In addition to the constitutional violations, the legislation would increase the psychological harms already proven to be suffered by children who are transgender.
- Senate Bill 907: Also known as the "Medical Misinformation Act," SB 907 violates physicians' freedom of speech by forcing them to give their patients who are seeking a medical abortion false information that is not scientifically proven, or supported by the medical community.
- House Bill 4776: HB 4776, known as the "Medical Discrimination Act," would allow all medical practitioners and health care institutions to refuse to provide care or perform a procedure they allege violates their conscience, which would legalize discrimination against South Carolinians seeking medical care.
- House Bill 3976: HB 3976 would, via vouchers, use public dollars to fund private and religious education. By directing public funds to religious institutions, the proposal clearly violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
- House Bill 5183: HB 5183 is an anti-truth bill designed to censor the speech of students and educators in the classroom. The proposal would compel teachers to talk about the oppression of historically marginalized groups "impartially" and dictate how students would be allowed to discuss the impact of that oppression on our country. HB 5183 would further undermine educators by subjecting them to a vague investigative process if suspected of being in violation of the proposed law.
Help us protect the rights of all South Carolinians by contacting your legislators TODAY.
Thank you,
ACLU of South Carolina
P.S. Known as the Juvenile Justice Reform Act, Senate Bill 53 acknowledges that children are fundamentally different from adult offenders. This legislation requires that the Department of Juvenile Justice amends and/or creates protocol so that their facilities can actually be safe and provide children a true chance for rehabilitation. Tell your legislators to vote YES on this important bill.
