Proposed Abortion Clinic Regulations Die in S.C. Subcommittee

April 26, 2013 —A South Carolina Senate subcommittee on Wednesday voted 3-2 to reject a bill (SB 204) that would have required abortion providers to be board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, the Columbia State reports. Subcommittee Chair Raymond Cleary (R) said he has no intention of bringing the bill back up for consideration.

The bill's opponents -- including health care providers, representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood -- said it would impose unnecessary regulations that could force some women's health clinics to close.

Robin Garrell, a Spartanburg internal medicine doctor, said, "The bill does nothing to protect patient safety, but instead creates medically unnecessary and redundant regulations for private businesses and medical professionals in an effort to ban abortion in South Carolina" (Self, Columbia State, 4/24).