Aiken County S.C. House Republicans could split on abortion bill
Sep. 26—The Republican members of the Aiken County delegation could split on a bill that would further restrict abortion access in South Carolina.
S.C. Reps. Bart Blackwell, R-Aiken, and Bill Hixon, R-North Augusta, said Monday afternoon that they would be voting to concur with the South Carolina Senate's changes to the state's abortion bill.
On Aug. 30 and 31, the South Carolina House voted largely along party lines to send the Senate a bill restricting access to abortion to situations where the life or physical health of the mother is in danger and during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy that's the result of a rape or incest.
The Senate voted to change the bill — S.C. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said the Republicans did not have the votes to advance the House bill — to allow access to abortion up to the detection of a fetal heartbeat (five or six weeks into a pregnancy) while keeping the House exceptions to allow abortion afterwards if the life or physical health of the mother is in danger or during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy that's the result of rape or incest.
When the House meets at 2 p.m. Tuesday, it will have three options: agree with the Senate changes (concur), not agree with the Senate changes (not concur) or make more changes to the Senate changes and send it back to the Senate.
"I intend to vote to concur with the Senate's version," Blackwell said Monday via text message. "It improves upon the fetal heartbeat bill that we celebrated last year and clearly represents the most restrictive measure we can expect to get through the Senate at this time."
Blackwell called the Senate version an incremental win and said his constituents in House District 81 would prefer the Senate bill over getting nothing accomplished.
S.C. Rep. Bill Hixon, R-North Augusta, said he would also vote to concur with the Senate version.
Hixon said in late August that he told four female constituents that he was fine with the state's fetal heartbeat bill and would also support exceptions for rape, incest and life and health of the mother in the House version of the bill if he didn't change is mind.
S.C. Rep. Melissa Oremus, R-Graniteville, said last week in a letter that she, S.C. Rep. Ashley Trantham, and the 12-male members of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus would be voting not to concur.
"The issue of human life isn't a pie where a few pieces are better than none," they continued. "The issue, like life itself, is a precious gem that cannot be divided. To accept a bill that denies the very principle upon which it was introduced would be to smash the gem in the height of political hypocrisy."
S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, said Monday that it would be necessary for the Republican members of the House to accept the Senate's version of the abortion bill to prevent South Carolina from becoming an abortion on demand state.
Taylor said he respected the determination of the members of the Freedom Caucus.
"I, too, am pro-life, but I am also a realist," Taylor said. "In a representative form of government, accomplishing goals is often incremental and takes a majority of votes to attain them."
He added not accepting the Senate version could result in the fetal heartbeat bill being struck down, making South Carolina an abortion on demand state.
"It is unimaginable that South Carolina could become a mecca of abortions among southern states," Taylor said. "It could happen. By not compromising and agreeing with the Senate version of the bill, my colleagues are absolutists (they insist on their way only). That means they are likely punting the ball to five Supreme Court Justices, where just one vote can make all the difference."
The potential split marks the second time the Aiken County Republicans could split over abortion.
In late August, Oremus said she was for a bill that banned abortion with very limited exceptions while Hixon and Taylor both advocated for more exceptions to be added.
The House is expected to convene at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
