Well here’s something to be proud of.
South Carolina is one of the most difficult places in the United States to get an abortion, abortion rights advocates say.
Over the past two decades, a host of legislative restrictions — mandatory waiting periods, requiring “informed consent” information and regulations on abortion clinics — have jelled to limit access to abortions.
Those restrictions delight anti-abortion forces and dishearten those who advocate a woman’s right to choose.
The impact of the laws is evident in:
• The decline of S.C. abortion clinics to three from 14 in 1996
• The drop in S.C. doctors who perform abortions. South Carolina is the only state in the nation that has a law that defines a fetus as a person. Abortion rights advocates say that law could expose doctors who perform abortions to criminal prosecution.
• Two-thirds of the state’s reproductive-age women live in counties where no doctors perform abortions.
• A slight increase in the number of S.C. women going to other states to get abortions
As a result, abortions in South Carolina have dropped 53 percent since 1988.
“As a result” is stretching it a little bit. Abortion rates in general have dropped significantly since 1988, when the national rate was 27.3 per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44. For teenagers, the abortion rate peaked in the 80s — and has since decreased by more than half.
So if the national abortion rate has dropped, and more women from South Carolina are going out of state for abortions, I’m not sure that the decrease in the SC abortion rate can be entirely (or even mostly) attributed to more restrictive laws. That said, I am sure that a great many women were unable to access abortion when they needed it as a result of these laws. I’m sure a great many women were compelled to continue pregnancies that they didn’t want. And while that may please the forced pregnancy crowd, it’s hardly a “victory” for anything.
But South Carolina is indeed a leader in giving the state control over women’s bodies — it’s one of the states where women have been convicted of crimes (including homicide) for using drugs while pregnant. And abortion rights aside, it’s a pretty shitty place to be a woman:
–South Carolina is ranked #42 in terms of women’s political participation — and earns a grade of D-.
-South Carolina also ranked #42 (and earned a D) for women’s employment and earnings.
-South Carolina also earned a D in terms of women’s economic autonomy.
-South Carolina also earned a D and ranked #44 for women’s health.
-South Carolina has one of the highest chlamydia rates in the country.
-22 percent of adult women in South Carolina have survived physical or sexual abuse in an intimate relationship.
-In 2001, South Carolina ranked #1 in the number of women killed by their intimate partners, and in 2003 clocked in at more than twice the national average.
-Women in South Carolina also get screwed when it comes to pensions and benefits:
Related to the wage differential are the pension receipts and benefit levels gaps. The Status of Women in South Carolina in 2002 shows that almost 10 percent fewer S.C. women (17.4 percent) than S.C. men (26.6 percent) receive pension and other retirement income. These percentages compared unfavorably with national percentages of 18.4 percent and 27.8 percent, respectively. Wide gaps are evident when the median annual benefits were considered. For S.C. women, the median annual benefit was $5,100 or 82 percent of the national median for women of $6,200. A reversal is seen for S.C. men whose median annual benefits were $15,600 or 26 percent higher than the national median for men of $12,400.
Funny how that works.
At least South Carolina politicians have been consistent in their “bitches ain’t shit” message, though. Women in South Carolina are poorer, less educated, and more likely to be killed by an intimate partner — it shouldn’t surprise us that women in South Carolina are also forced to give birth when they don’t want to, and effectively barred from exercising their most basic right to self-determination.
But ok, no surprise there — it isn’t exactly a secret that “pro-life” politicians and activists could care less about women’s lives, and women in general. They’re concerned about the babies, right? If there’s one thing that pro-lifers love, it’s babies!
…or not. While politicians and anti-choicers in South Carolina may boast about their state’s women’s rights violations, they certainly can’t justify those violations by arguing that they really care about the children — because South Carolina is a pretty shitty place to be a kid.
–South Carolina has one of the highest child poverty rates in the country — it’s ranked #42, with 1 being the best and 50 being the worst.
–A full 10 percent of infants in South Carolina are born underweight, putting it at #48 when it comes to underweight births.
-South Carolina ranks #42 in terms of infant deaths
-South Carolina ranks #42 in terms of prenatal care.
–South Carolina has a 50 percent high school drop-out rate, which is above the national average of 30 percent.
Let’s also keep in mind that 100 percent of the worst politicians for children are “pro-life.” South Carolina boasts three U.S. congressmen who earned a zero rating.
In 1996, there were 14 abortion clinics in South Carolina. Now there are three. And South Carolina is looking at a whole series of laws to restrict abortion access even more.
It’s not about babies — if it was, maybe “pro-lifers” would give a shit about them after they exit the birth canal. It’s about controlling and punishing women. There’s something to be proud of.