Advocate Stories, Health and Education

CEO Ann Warner’s Statement in Opposition to S.1 Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee

by Ann Warner on Jan 14, 2021

Testimony given on Thursday, January 14th.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony to this Committee. My name is Ann Warner and I am the CEO of the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with a mission to build a movement to advance the health, economic well-being, and rights of South Carolina’s women, girls, and their families. We have more than 40,000 people in our statewide network.   

On behalf of our organization, I am asking committee members to vote in opposition to S.1. 

This bill is extreme, and it is dangerous. Passing this bill will not end abortion. It will, however, make pregnancy even more dangerous in South Carolina. It will cause the state to lose healthcare providers, putting healthcare further out of reach. It will cause economic hardship. It will cost our state untold millions of dollars that could be used on education, health care, or infrastructure. And by taking away individual freedoms and bodily autonomy, it will undermine our democratic and free society. I will briefly elaborate on each of these points. 

  1. First, even though proponents of this bill want to end abortions, there is no evidence that it will have this intended effect. The World Health Organization has concluded that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions.
  2. Furthermore, pregnancy is already a dangerous condition in South Carolina. South Carolina ranks 50th in the nation in healthcare for pregnant mothers and newborns. We rank 50th in number of midwives and Obstetricians / Gynecologists per capita. Our maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the nation, and both are far higher for Black mothers and infants. Black mothers are more than three times more likely to die during pregnancy or in childbirth than white mothers.iii Extreme restrictions on abortion make pregnancy more dangerous. People denied abortions are more likely to experience serious complications from the end of pregnancy, including eclampsia and death.iv  Any person of reproductive age could be harmed by this law, but the people who will suffer the most will be people who already face barriers to health care, including young people, people of color, people with disabilities, survivors of violence, people with low incomes, and people living in rural areas.   
  3. This law would not only make abortion nearly impossible to provide; it would also make it far more difficult for physicians to provide the best care possible for their patients for a wide range of health conditions, like miscarriage, preeclampsia, diabetes or cancer, in the event that such care could indirectly lead to termination of a pregnancy. The fear of criminal prosecution could overshadow their best medical judgment and the wishes of their patients. In a state with one of the lowest rates of midwives and OB/GYNs per capita in the entire country, we simply cannot afford to make it even more difficult for doctors to do their jobs.  
  4. Restricting abortion access also has economic consequences. According to peer-reviewed studies, over a five-year period, women refused an abortion are more likely to report not having enough money to cover basic living expenses such as housing, transportation and food. This ultimately leads to four times greater odds of living below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).v In addition, women denied abortion are: more likely to stay with abusive partners, more likely to suffer anxiety and loss of self-esteem in the short term after being denied abortion, and less likely to have aspirational life plans for the coming year. The studies also conclude that denying abortion has serious and negative implications for the children born of unwanted pregnancy, as well as for the existing children in the family. 
  5. Finally, banning abortion and forcing pregnancy would insert the government into people’s private lives and would rob them of the freedom to make a most personal decision: whether, when, and how to become a parent. South Carolinians have the intellectual and moral capabilities to make these decisions about their health care and about their lives without government interference.  

Some proponents of this bill may believe that they have the best interests of South Carolinians at heart, but this is a misguided and dangerous intrusion of the state into people’s private lives, and it will have catastrophic consequences for our health, our economic security, and our fundamental rights. 

I strongly urge you to vote in opposition of S.1. By opposing this bill, you will send a clear message to South Carolinians that you respect our judgment, our well-being, our freedom, and our lives.   

Thank you for your consideration.

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