S.C. senator believes it is time to let the state’s voters decide the abortion issue | Opinion

Let voters decide

When the U.S. Supreme Court held in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion, it triggered state legislative action throughout the nation.

The S.C. Legislature has debated abortion-related bills nine of the last 11 years. We have passed numerous bills limiting abortions in South Carolina over that time period.

Our most recent effort, the Heartbeat Bill, which would have prohibited most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, was struck down in a 3-2 vote last year by the S.C. Supreme Court. The court held that the S.C.Constitution, as written, confers upon a woman the right to have an abortion.

In a special legislative session last fall, following the Dobbs opinion, we vigorously debated abortion but could not reach consensus between the House and the Senate due, in large part, to the uncertainty of what bill would pass constitutional scrutiny.

In our current session we have debated and will continue to debate several different abortion-related bills.

Whether the legislature can pass an abortion bill this session is unclear.

But the problem is clear: the abortion issue in South Carolina has become a tennis match between the General Assembly and the State Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, this confusion has a loser: the citizens of South Carolina.

It is time that the citizens of our great state be given the opportunity not only to be heard on this important issue, but to decide this issue.

This decision can be made through a constitutional amendment, voted on by the people, during the next general election.

It is safe to say that nearly every voting-age citizen has given abortion thought and that most have an opinion on the issue.

This is the most important moral issue of this generation.

I trust the citizens of South Carolina. We, the General Assembly, should give this power to the people for whom we work.

Sen. Greg Hembree, R-District 28

Pediatrician’s plea

South Carolina has a lot to offer.

Why else would we be one of the fastest growing states in the nation?

But with all our state’s beauty and opportunity, one group is consistently forgotten: our kids.

As a pediatrician, the issues I see families struggle with everyday include hunger, education, access to medical care, and more-and-more often gun violence.

That’s why I am increasingly frustrated with our elected lawmakers in the S.C. Statehouse, who push these very real, urgent problems to the wayside and instead focus on divisive culture wars.

In this legislative session, we’ve seen action on bills enacting permitless carry, banning transgender people from changing their name, restricting what teachers can and can’t teach in school, and, yes, further restrictions on abortion.

Bills that make children’s lives better exist. One group of bipartisan senators introduced a bill to provide free school meals to public school students, for example.

But it seems sensible bills don’t make it to committee nearly as much as the bills that serve as conservative campaign fodder.

If we want our state to be a great place for families, we need our lawmakers in Columbia to prioritize kids. Right now they are failing.

Dr. Michael O’Brien, Mt. Pleasant

Yes to permitless carry

Reasonable people with common sense know criminals already carry firearms without a permit even though one is required.

We see these “bad-guys” on the street. We see them in line beside us at the store everyday. We just don’t know they are carrying a weapon because their gun is concealed.

Passing permitless carry will not put more “bad-guys” on the street and will not cause “good-guys” to start shooting each other.

The S.C. Senate should pass S.109 to make it easier for people to defend themselves without having to get the government’s permission.

Jim Clark, Columbia