A bill

to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws so as to enact the "Human Life Protection Act"; so as to amend Chapter 41, Title 44 of the South Carolina Code by adding Article 7, so as to ban abortions in this State, to provide for exceptions to the ban on abortions, to protect the use of contraceptives and alternative reproductive technologies, to provide penalties, to provide a civil cause of action for failure to comply with the requirements of this article, to provide that a woman cannot be convicted for having an abortion, to provide that physicians or other licensed professionALS shall lose their license for violations of this article, and to provide that a woman's name may remain anonymous in proceedings initiated pursuant to this article; by adding Section 44-41-90 so as to provide that the State Health Insurance Program may not pay for abortions, to prohibit state funds from being used for the purchase of fetal tissue or fetal remains obtained from an abortion, and to defund planned parenthood; by adding Section 63-17-325 so as to require a biological father to pay child support beginning at conception; by adding Section 38-71-146 so as to require all individual and group health insurance and HMO policies to cover contraceptives, to require PEBA to cover prescribed contraceptives for dependents; by amending Section 44-41-710, relating to Construction and application of article, so as to remove language related to implicit repeal; by amending Section 44-41-480, relating to Construction against implicit repeal of existing law, so as to remove language related to implicit repeal; repeal section 44-41-20; by amending Section 44-41-70, relating to Promulgation of rules and regulations for certification of hospitals and other facilities, so as to delete a reference to section 44-41-20; and to provide an unconditional right to intervene in challenges to this act by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1.   This act may be cited as the "Human Life Protection Act".

SECTION 2.    The General Assembly hereby finds that:

   (1) Article I, Section 1 of the South Carolina Constitution recognizes that "[A]ll political power is vested in the people of this State" and it has long been recognized that the will of the people is expressed in the legislative enactments of the people's elected representatives.

   (2) Article I, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution guarantees that no person shall be "deprived of life…without due process of law" and that the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that no person shall be "deprived of life…without the due process of law."

   (3) Article I, Section 8 of the South Carolina Constitution provides that the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of the government "shall be forever separate and distinct from each other, and no person or persons exercising the functions of one of said departments shall assume or discharge the duties of any other."

   (4) Article III, Section 1 of the South Carolina Constitution vests the "legislative power of this State" with the General Assembly.

   (5) In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court held that the federal constitution does not provide a right to an abortion, and that the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.

   (6) Pursuant to Article I, Section 1 of the South Carolina Constitution, the people of this state are exercising their political power through the General Assembly's exercise of its Article III, Section 1 sole authority to legislate to secure the rights to life for unborn children as guaranteed by Article I, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

   (7) Any attempt by a coequal branch of government to limit or prevent the General Assembly from exercising its Article I, Section 3 power is an unconstitutional usurpation of that power and is a violation of the separation of powers enshrined in Article I, Section 8 of the South Carolina Constitution and the United States Supreme Court's holding in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

SECTION 3.   Chapter 41, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

   Article 7

   Human Life Protection Act

   Section 44-41-810.   For the purposes of this article:

   (1) "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn human being. Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of the unborn human being, or to remove a dead unborn human being.

   (2) "Clinically diagnosable pregnancy" means the point in time when it is possible to determine that a woman is pregnant due to the detectible presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hGC).

   (3) "Female" means a biological female assigned at the time of birth or an intersexed person capable of producing an ovum at birth.

   (4) "Fatal fetal anomaly" means that, in reasonable medical judgment, an unborn child has a profound and irremediable congenital or chromosomal anomaly that, with or without the provision of life-preserving treatment, would be incompatible with sustaining life after birth.

   (5) "Physician" means any person licensed in this State to practice medicine and surgery, or licensed osteopathic medicine and surgery.

   (6) "Pregnant woman" means the human biological female reproductive condition of having a living unborn child within her body, whether or not she has reached the age of majority.

   (7) "Selective reduction" means, in the context of assisted reproductive technology, a procedure to stop the development of one or more unborn children in utero.

   (8) "Rape" has the same meaning as criminal sexual conduct, regardless of the degree of criminal sexual conduct.

   (9) "Reasonable medical judgement" means a medical judgement that would made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable about the case and treatment possibilities with respect to the medical condition involved.

   (10) "Unborn child" means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from conception until live birth.

   Section 44-41-820.   (A)   No person shall knowingly administer to, prescribe for, deliver to, or sell to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug, or other substance with the specific intent of causing an abortion.

   (B) No person may knowingly use or employ any instrument, device means or procedure upon a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing an abortion.

   Section 44-41-830.   (A)(1) A physician may perform, induce, or attempt to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman if:

         (a) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest and the abortion or attempted abortion is performed or induced during the first trimester of the pregnancy; or

         (b) there exists a fatal fetal anomaly that has been confirmed by two physicians in separate medical practices who specialize in obstetrics or the area of medicine in which the fatal fetal anomaly is diagnosed.

      (2) A physician who performs or induces an abortion on a pregnant woman pursuant to subitem (1)(a) must report the allegation of rape or incest to the sheriff in the county in which the rape or incest ocurred. The report must be made no later than twenty-four hours after performing or inducing the abortion. The report may be made orally or in writing and must include the name and contact information of the pregnant woman making the allegation. Prior to performing or inducing the abortion, the physician who will perform or induce the abortion based upon an allegation of rape or incest must notify the pregnant woman that the physician will report the allegation of rape or incest to the Sheriff in the county where the rape or incest occurred. The physician shall make written notations in the pregnant woman's medical records that the abortion was performed pursuant to the applicable exception, that the physician timely notified the appropriate Sheriff of the allegation of rape or incest, and that the woman was notified prior to the abortion that the physician would notify the Sheriff of the allegation of rape or incest. They physician shall preserve a DNA sample from the fetal remains and notify the Sheriff that the DNA sample has been preserved. The Sheriff shall collect the DNA sample from the physician and shall hold the DNA sample as evidence within ninety days of receiving notice from the physician. The DNA sample shall be held as evidence as provided by the Preservation of Evidence Act.

   (B)(1) It is not a violation of Section 44-41-820 for a physician to perform a medical procedure necessary in his reasonable medical judgment to prevent the death of a pregnant woman, a substantial risk of death of a pregnant woman due to a physical condition, or the substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman, not including psychological or emotional conditions.

      (2) It is presumed that the following medical conditions constitute a substantial risk of death or substantial risk of substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function of a pregnant woman: molar pregnancy, partial molar pregnancy, blighted ovum, ectopic pregnancy, severe preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, abruptio placentae, severe physical maternal trauma, uterine rupture, intrauterine fetal demise, and miscarriage. However, when an unborn child is alive in utero, the physician must make all reasonable efforts to deliver and save the life of an unborn child during the process of separating the unborn child from the pregnant woman, to the extent that it does not adversely affect the life or physical health of the pregnant woman, and in a manner that is consistent with reasonable medical practice. The enumeration of the medical conditions in this item is not intended to exclude or abrogate other conditions that satisfy the exclusions contained in item (1) or prevent other procedures that are not included in the definition of abortion.

      (3) A physician performing a medical procedure pursuant to item (1) shall make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve the life of the pregnant woman's unborn child, to the extent that it does not substantially risk the death or physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman, not including psychological or emotional conditions and in a manner consistent with reasonable medical practices. A medical procedure shall not be considered necessary if it is performed based upon a claim or diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct that she intends to result in her death or in a substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function.

      (4) A physician who performs a medical procedure pursuant to item (1) shall declare, in a written document maintained with the woman's medical records, that the medical procedure was necessary, the woman's medical condition necessitating the procedure, the physician's rationale for his conclusion that the procedure was necessary, and that all reasonable efforts were made to save the unborn child in the event it was living prior to the procedure. The declaration required by this item must be placed in the woman's medical records not later than thirty days after the procedure was completed. A physician's exercise of reasonable medical judgment in relation to a medical procedure undertaken pursuant to this subsection is presumed to be within the applicable standard of care.

   (C) Medical treatment provided to a pregnant woman by a physician which results in the accidental or unintentional injury or death of her unborn child is not a violation of Section 44-41-820.

   (D)(1) It is not a violation of Section 44-41-820 to use, sell, or administer a contraceptive measure, drug, chemical, or device if the contraceptive measure, drug, chemical, or device is used, sold, prescribed or administered in accordance with manufacturer's instructions and is not used, sold, prescribed or administered to cause or induce an abortion.

      (2) It is not a violation of Section 44 41 820 to use, sell, prescribe, and insert an intrauterine device if the intrauterine device is used, sold, inserted, and prescribed within the reasonable medical judgment of a physician and is not used, sold, prescribed, or administered to cause or induce an abortion of an unborn human being.

      (3) It is not a violation of Section 44-41-820 to use, sell, prescribe, and administer an emergency contraceptive drug designed to be taken within five days of unprotected sex and used according to the manufacturer's instructions. For purposes of this item, an emergency contraceptive drug does not include mifepristone or misoprostol.

   (E)(1) Except as provided in item (2), it is not a violation of Section 44-41-820 perform or undergo assistive reproductive technology, including but not limited to in vitro fertilization, within the accepted standards of care by the reproductive medical community.

      (2) Performing selective reduction is a violation of Section 44-41-820 unless it is necessary within reasonable medical judgment to prevent a substantial risk of death or a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of another unborn child.

   Section 44-41-840.      (A)   A person who violates Section 44-41-820 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

   (B) A person who uses force, or the threat of force, to intentionally injure or intimidate another person for the purpose of coercing an abortion in violation of Section 44-41-820 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must fined ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

   (C) A person who is not a physician as defined in this article and who prescribes any means of abortion for the purpose of facilitating an abortion within this State violates Section 44-41-820 and, upon c