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Subcommittee hears emotional testimony on bill to make abortion a homicide offense; amendment ruled out of order and meeting adjourns
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Summary
Lawmakers heard hours of testimony on House Bill H3537, a proposal to classify abortion as homicide; an amendment to substitute unrelated tax language was ruled not germane and the meeting was adjourned under House rule 6.3 before a committee vote.
Representative D. Harris summarized House Bill H3537 to the Constitutional Law Subcommittee as a measure that would extend homicide and equal‑protection laws to preborn persons. The sponsor described the bill as establishing that "murdering anyone should be illegal for everyone" and framed the proposal as an equal‑protection measure.
An amendment was offered by Representative Justin Bamberg that would have struck and inserted unrelated tax language (a bill previously filed to reduce state income tax). Chairman Newton and the chair ruled the amendment not germane to the subject matter of H3537, and the amendment was not accepted.
Public testimony included strongly personal and emotional statements. Toni Nardone testified against the bill, saying that if H3537 were law a woman in her circumstances would be charged with homicide: "Under House Bill 3,537, a woman can be charged with homicide for getting an abortion. In South Carolina, that means up to life in prison and even the death penalty," she said, recounting a fetal‑anomaly pregnancy and explaining she had to travel out of state to obtain needed care.
Attorney Bradley Pierce, who said he helped draft the bill, argued H3537 would apply equal‑protection principles to preborn persons and is not retroactive; he said prosecutorial safeguards such as due process would remain in place. Pierce also addressed questions about separation of church and state and said the bill is grounded in constitutional interpretation rather than solely religious doctrine.
The meeting ended under House rule 6.3 because the full House was convening; the chair adjourned the subcommittee before a vote on H3537 could be taken. No committee vote on H3537 was recorded at this meeting.
What happens next: With no committee vote recorded, H3537's next procedural step will depend on whether the sponsor or committee schedules the bill for further consideration.
