February 24, 2025
The reversal of Roe v. Wade marked the beginning of the fight for Life in South Carolina, overcoming many obstacles. As South Carolina prepares to consider the Life at Conception Act and taking on Planned Parenthood at the U.S. Supreme Court, here’s everything that Students for Life Action (SFLAction) has done to back pro-life champions in the palmetto state.
As is the case in state and federal politics, SFLAction often must weed out the wolves in sheep’s clothing among legislators, which translates to finding the pro-abortion Republicans among the GOP. South Carolina currently prohibits abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, but that could soon change if South Carolina politicians bring forth the Life at Conception Act. This is in part thanks to SFLAction’s heavy lift to send State Republican Sens. Katrina Shealy, Sandy Senn, and Penry Gustafson packing when they sided with South Carolina House democrats to shut down lifesaving bills.
Voting Against Life-Saving Bills
First, they voted against the Life at Conception Act and tried to change an SFLAction-approved six-week heartbeat bill, the Heartbeat Abortion Protection Act, to a 12-week bill, which would allow for abortion up to almost three months. Though they were unsuccessful, they still needed to go.
Sending Them Spines
Before we sent them packing, we sent them spines, because you know, they lacked one. Our bold move to distribute plastic models of spines to pro-abortion “pro-life” leaders in South Carolina caught the eye of many national news outlets.
READ: Correcting the Record on SFLAction’s Spine Awards in South Carolina
Bonus points for free publicity, as the senator sisters held up our gift to them on the State Senate floor for the world to see.
Rallying the Pro-Life Generation
Then, we got to work for one of our most successful grassroots movements. During deployment, SFLAction sent out two rounds of mailers, totaling 37,407 pieces, as well as three rounds of texts, and a round of calls in the state senate districts alone, as well as running digital ads, door-knocking campaigns, and flyering efforts at churches.
Total programs included:
- 37,407 pieces of mail
- 110,641 text messages
- 47,011 phone calls
- 2,572 doors knocked
Defeating the Senator Sisters
As a result, South Carolina voted in 10 pro-life leaders in South Carolina’s House and Senate primary races. In the primary race between State Sen. Sandy Senn and pro-life candidate Matt Leber, the margin of victory was only 31 votes, showcasing how critical these deployments are to securing pro-life legislators in State Houses.
Sending Them Packing: Literally
To help the senator sisters clean out their office, SFLAction delivered moving boxes with our bold logo and branding.
READ: Students for Life Action Delivers Moving Boxes to South Carolina Senators Who Betrayed Life
We bid a “fond” farewell to the senator sisters, hoping “pro-life” Republicans will think twice about voting against life-saving legislation.
Alerting the Media
In the spirit of sending a message to Republicans not to betray the pro-life movement, SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins wrote a Townhall op-ed about getting the foxes out of the pro-life hen house:
“For more than 50 years, the American pro-life movement fought a primarily federal game of electing U.S. senators to later weigh in on Supreme Court nominations. At the same time, in select states around the country, strategic legislation moved toward the high court, for the hope of reconsidering the human rights injustice of Roe v. Wade. When that decades-long struggle came to a head in the summer of 2022 as the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe, too many tried to say that the battle was over. But it’s just the beginning.
Students for Life Action (SFLAction) has worked around the country as America’s state houses now address abortion without Roe’s roadblock. But when pro-life words don’t result in pro-life deeds, today’s committed GOP voter wants better options.”
The Wall Street Journal’s insightful profile on Hawkins described SFLAction’s efforts as the following:
“When three female Republican legislators in South Carolina were contemplating voting against a near-total abortion ban there, Hawkins had students deliver them plastic spines to send the message she wanted them to ‘grow a spin’ on the issue. When the three women ultimately voted against the bill, the group campaigned against them in a primary and successfully defeated them, sending them moving boxes as a final dig.”
Gearing Up for Life at Conception Act
Indeed, the Pro-Life Generation (PLG) is tough, and we have definite expectations for our pro-life champions. Just as South Carolina voters elected pro-life champions, we also expect pro-life actions, such as voting on the Life at Conception Act, to come to fruition.
While we’re proud of the work we’ve done, it’s still only the beginning.