SC bill would ban experimentation on aborted fetal remains
A South Carolina state senator wants to make it illegal to sell, buy or experiment on fetal remains procured through an abortion in the Palmetto State — and suggested that a South Carolina university might have bought fetal tissue for research.
But Democrats say they’ve seen no evidence a problem exists.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, mirrors similar pieces of legislation filed by abortion opponents in the Legislature over the years. Those bills have failed to become law.
Talking to a panel of senators Thursday, Cash claimed that the University of South Carolina purchased remains from an abortion years ago. When pressed for details questioned by his fellow senators, Cash said he did not know what the remains were used for, but said he spoke to former USC President Harris Pastides about the issue.
USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said Thursday the university does not conduct research using human fetal tissue, and officials are unaware of any evidence they ever have.
In 2009, the university purchased human tissue samples from the University of Washington. Stensland said it’s unknown what kind of human tissue samples were purchased.
The only record detailing the purchase was an invoice referring to the samples, Stensland said, adding that anyone who would have known the origin of the tissue no longer works at the university. USC has not made any additional purchases from that lab since.
“This issue was raised a couple of years ago,” Stensland told The State. “Our vice president for research conducted an extensive review, and fetal tissue is not being used for research at the University of South Carolina.”
Stensland added that the university provided all of that information to Cash when he inquired about it years ago.
Democrats on the panel questioned whether the bill is even necessary, given a lack of evidence a problem exists.
“We haven’t cited one example that this has been abused in this state or any other state,” S.C. Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, said before the panel’s vote. “We need to notify the women in this state, who I think would vehemently opposed this bill.”
Elected to the state Senate in 2017, Cash is a top opponent of abortion in the Senate.
On Thursday, Cash told a Medical Affairs Committee panel that he was inspired to write the bill after a majority-Republican congressional panel released a report in 2016 after investigating allegations that abortion providers were selling fetal remains for research in 2015. The panel alleged that clinics illegally made money selling tissue in part to universities, including USC.
Congressional Democrats on the panel later released their own report challenging statements made by Republicans and adding that their Republican colleagues used inaccurate information and documents without sources.
A 2016 investigation by Planned Parenthood found that the allegations of clinics selling fetal remains are unfounded. Planned Parenthood does allow participants to donate tissue in some states and can be reimbursed for transportation, storage and preservation costs under U.S. law.
“This really goes back to the scandal with Planned Parenthood several years back about selling baby parts from abortions,” Cash told senators Thursday, referring to the 2015 allegations.
Cash compared the allegations that clinics that perform abortions sell fetal remains for experimentation to the Holocaust.
“If a Jewish person is killed in the death camp because they’re Jewish, that’s a horror,” Cash said. “If they’re killed and they’re experimented upon for various reasons … now you’re compounding the moral evil that took place in the first place of an innocent person being killed.”
South Carolina officials did their own investigation into the allegations against Planned Parenthood in 2015 and 2016. Ultimately, the investigation, which was ordered by former Gov. Nikki Haley, revealed no criminal wrongdoing, though clinics were cited for failure to properly dispose of waste and to wait a full hour after an ultrasound before performing some abortions. The two clinics that were cited were allowed to remain open after taking corrective action.
Cash said his bill would not prohibit doing research using tissue from miscarriages or still births; it would only prohibit research and sale of issue from aborted fetal remains, which he called “abhorrent.”
He added that he believed allowing fetal remains to be used for research could influence women’s decisions on whether to get an abortion.
Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Clarendon, said he doesn’t believe that would happen.
“I can’t imagine any woman getting pregnant and getting an abortion with the idea of donating the tissue,” Johnson said.
The Clarendon Democrat added that he believes women should be able to choose what happens with the remains of a fetus after having an abortion.
“If they want to provide the fetus to help somebody else or potentially help somebody else, I think that’s a good thing,” Johnson said Thursday.
Other Democrats on the committee asked if Cash had spoken to universities about the potential benefits of the use of fetal tissue from abortions for research. They asked if the bill could be held so representatives from USC could speak to the committee, but were ultimately overruled.
Ultimately, the GOP-controlled panel voted on party lines to push the bill forward. Kimpson, though, issued a warning to his fellow senators, saying he did not believe the bill would survive once it reached the Senate floor, where Democrats have enough votes to stall our a piece of legislation.
Reporter Lucas Daprile contributed to this story.
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
