COLUMBIA, SC — After South Carolina Republicans failed to pass a legal abortion ban last year, they are back to try again, and this time, without public input.
Today, South Carolina constituents who signed up to testify on the abortion ban bills received a notice that many of them would not get a chance to exercise their freedom of speech. The meeting will not be livestreamed to the public. Members of the subcommittee will choose who gets to testify and who does not.
SCDP Chair Trav Robertson, Jr. is calling on the Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee to:
“Allow for additional testimony. Legislators should not get to pick and choose whose opinions they want to hear. If this means they need to hold another hearing, then so be it.
“Live-stream the hearing for the public. In 2022, amidst a raging global pandemic, there is absolutely no excuse for not livestreaming a public hearing. If the State House does not have technology that is up-to-date and capable of producing this video stream, we are happy to loan out our equipment and send someone to operate it.
“If Republicans can livestream 8 hours of testimony on cow dewormer and horse paste, they certainly can allow their constituents to testify on a bill that would take away women’s medical freedom,” said SCDP Chair Trav Robertson, Jr. “Republicans are the first to claim they believe in freedom of speech and the first amendment, but are the last to practice it. They are defending the rights of rapists and child molesters instead of the medical freedoms of their victims.”
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