In 2022, the Louisiana House prepared to pass HB-813, the Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act. The bill garnered statewide support; a majority of House Republicans pledged to vote for it. On the eve of the vote, more than 70 national pro-life organizations communicated to the House urging them to vote no on HB-813. Blindsided, the legislators asked the same questions you ask: Why would supposedly pro-life organizations oppose a bill eliminating abortion in Louisiana? Now that the Supreme Court had reversed Roe v. Wade, were the red states not expected to enact legislation to abolish abortion? Why the kickback from ostensibly pro-life organizations?
It all boils down to a compromise on biblical convictions. Those pro-life organizations are not willing to equally apply the law to a mother who knowingly, willingly, and with premeditation pays an abortion mill operator to murder her unborn child. For some reason, women who kill their babies get a pass in our perverted culture, and these so-called Christian, pro-life organizations are promoting the coddling of mothers who are accomplices to murder.
What’s their rationale? I’ve heard it said, “Women who have had previous abortions will be subject to jail time or the death penalty!” I’ve also heard it said that the passing of an equal protection bill would lead to the closing of crisis pregnancy centers due to blowback from pro-choice organizations or rejection by their potential clientele. I disagree. We should never be afraid to do what is right because of the fear of what other people might do or say.
If the Legislature passes H-3549, the 2023 South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act (or a similar bill in the next legislative session), and if the courts convict just one mom and one abortion doctor of murdering an unborn baby, all abortions in South Carolina will come to a screeching halt forever! That’s the power of deterrence. That’s the power of the law! Isn’t that what we have all been after for nearly 50 years — to stop the baby-killing?
What does equal protection actually mean? The laws that protect born people must be the same that protect preborn people. Abortion is murder and should be prosecuted as such. No one has the right to kill a human being, not even a person’s own mother.
South Carolina’s Constitution, Article 1, Section 3 says, “… nor shall any person be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor should any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.”
The problem? Current “pro-life” bills continue to regulate how, where, and when preborn babies can be murdered under the guise of law. South Carolina Code of Laws has an entire section dedicated to the regulation of preborn baby murder in Title 44, Chapter 41. At-home abortion is the future of the abortion industry; legislation refuses to address it.
To truly abolish abortion, South Carolinians need to abolish Title 44, Chapter 41 and amend the homicide code to make clear that the laws apply to preborn babies from the moment of conception. South Carolina Code defines murder as “the killing of any person with malice aforethought, either expressed or implied.” Is this not abortion?
The Bible establishes the personhood of the preborn (Ps. 139:13, Jer. 1:5). God also commands, “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13). Exodus 21:22–24 applies the same legal protection when external violence harms a preborn baby. Proverbs 17:15 — He who justifies the wicked and condemns the righteous, both are an abomination to the Lord.
Support the Prenatal Equal Protection Act. See JacksonFamilyMinistry.com for FAQs.
— Robert Jackson is a family physician in Spartanburg.