Episode 15: Senate Bill 323 & House Bill 3537: Reproductive Justice, Disability, and Criminalization in South Carolina

In South Carolina, two bills — S.323 and H.3537 — could dramatically increase criminalization of abortion and pregnancy outcomes, redefine personhood from fertilization, and amplify risks for disabled people. In this episode, we break down what each bill says, how they intersect with disability rights and medical access, and what South Carolinians can do now.

CALL TO ACTION: Tell Sen. Shane Massey to OPPOSE S.323!Senator Massey is one of the most powerful lawmakers in South Carolina — as Senate Majority Leader, he decides which bills move forward or die in committee (while he doesn’t have unilateral power to veto a bill, he absolutely can prevent it from being debated, voted on, or prioritized). That means he can stop S.323, the extreme abortion ban that criminalizes doctors, families, and patients. Your voice matters.

This week, take 15 minutes to call, email, or write Sen. Massey and tell him why you oppose S.323: [phone] [e-mail] 508 Gressette Building, 1101 Pendleton St, Columbia, SC 29201

Frame your message around government overreach, fiscal waste, and the danger of criminalizing private health decisions. South Carolina families deserve safety, privacy, and real leadership — not political interference in our most personal choices.
If you’d like help drafting testimony, need plain-language summaries, or want to connect with others in your area facing these issues, email me at [e-mail]. Follow the show on social media and tag me with your questions. Your story matters.

As a reminder, this bill would: make abortion a felony equivalent to “the homicide of a person born alive" allow imprisonment up to 30 years for a person having an abortion or aiding in abortion prohibit transporting a minor out of state to obtain an abortion make it unlawful to possess any drug or substance that can be used for abortion make providing information about abortion unlawful, including via a website or phone call

Reach out to the Palmetto State Abortion Fund.

Reach our to the ACLU of South Carolina.

Other helpful links:S.323 bill text & page (126th Session): South Carolina Legislature Online. Provisions redefining terms, emergency requirements, reporting to law enforcement, and wrongful-death civil action.H.3537 bill text & page (126th Session): South Carolina Legislature Online. Personhood at fertilization within homicide and assault articles; defenses, exceptions, prospective application, status in House Judiciary.Current law baseline: S.474 (2023) six-week ban with limited exceptions; Governor’s signing summary; code page. SC Supreme Court ruling (May 2025): News coverage of 5–0 decision upholding enforcement and noting exceptions.Pregnancy criminalization data: SC factsheet and post-Dobbs interim update by Pregnancy Justice; trend lines for prosecutions tied to pregnancy loss and information-seeking.