Spartanburg County Legislation Delegation: "We Will Not Let Hate Win."

In June, the United States Supreme Court overturned fifty years of precedent and took the right to an abortion away from 150 million people. Senator Josh Kimbrell and Representative Josiah Magnuson could hardly contain their excitement. Josiah has gone to great lengths to explain why he doesn’t think an abortion ban should have any exceptions. Josh wants to go even further; he is pushing for a constitutional amendment that would ban abortion nationwide.

These people, and others like them in our legislature, do not care about us. They don’t care about our wives, mothers, sisters or daughters any more than they care about our husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, or family who don’t quite conform to any of those labels.

No. What Josh and Josiah care about is catering to that 15-20% extreme minority who favor a complete and total abortion ban. They do not care about the consequences for us or for anyone else. Out of touch legislators like them have lately demonstrated a pattern of radical extremism that is unacceptable and unamerican.

Over the past year, these legislators and their cronies in Columbia have been on a warpath against women and minorities. From medical discrimination laws that target the health and wellness of trans people, to educational censorship bills, to bullying libraries and schools by threatening to deny them funding if they don’t participate in book bans, and now banning all abortions across the state, they have gone too far. YOU have gone too far.

Because of you, documented, legal immigrants will be unable to establish themselves or their careers in our state. Because of you, teachers will be fired for acknowledging the existence of gay people. Because of you, we’re not going to have anti-hate crime legislation in South Carolina this year. Because of you, LGBTQ human beings, many of them children, will take their own lives. Because of right wing extremists like you, someone somewhere will be charged with first degree murder for taking birth control pills. Because of you, countless human beings will die when they pursue abortion through unsafe means because you left them with no choice. Because of you, people with ectopic pregnancies will die. People with septic uteruses will die. People who have miscarriages will be arrested and prosecuted. People with unreleased miscarriages will die. Because of you, our overwhelmed foster care system will be flooded with babies whose mothers could not care for them but were forced to birth them anyway.

And do you know who WILL be able to safely get abortions after this ban passes? YOUR wives. YOUR daughters. YOUR mistresses. Because we all know that women of means will have no trouble getting around it. This ban would mostly affect working class people. And no matter how much lip service you pay to them, you don’t care about them.

Thirty seven percent of all abortions are performed on evangelical women. Sixty percent are performed on folks who already have children. The women who seek abortions are more than just statistics. They are the women you go to church with. The women you work with. Your own family members who are too petrified to tell you the truth.

You have done NOTHING to address the real problems facing every day South Carolinians. Instead, you stay focused on dreaming up new ways to make life harder for women, for LGBTQ folks, and for other minorities.

The purpose of these comments is not to change your mind. We have already tried. Brave activists have shown up at the Capitol time and again, begging and pleading you not to enact your hateful policies. You did not listen.

And there is no reason to think you’ll listen now. So no, I’m not here because I think you’ll change your minds. I’m here to tell you that you have gone too far. You are supposed to represent everyone in your districts, not just the people who voted for you, and you have failed. You have indulged too many conspiracies. You have oppressed too many women and too many minorities. You have taken away too many civil rights. We have had enough. And you will reap the consequences of what you have sown.

We will not let hate win.

Kathryn Harvey Spartanburg Herald Journal Op Ed on Abortion Access

I NEED YOU TO BE OUTRAGED.

Here we are, halfway through summer with several fundamental rights under attack in the U.S., including abortion access, our right to vote, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and a host of others intertwined with our right to liberty in which Roe was grounded. And the ongoing January 6 hearings qualify the foundation has been laid for fervent political violence that bodes for very unsettling future election cycles.

All of this should be alarming regardless of your political persuasion.

Our state has some of the worst reproductive health outcomes in the country. Abortion is healthcare, and legal access to abortion is now in the hands of state lawmakers. Governor McMaster has already put a six week abortion ban into effect and the house is swiftly moving to pass H.5399. This bill that would outlaw abortion completely and require doctors to report survivors of rape and incest who are seeking abortion to law enforcement.

Of the 51 House members who are sponsoring the Bill, all of the Republican House members from Spartanburg are on the list; District 32 Rep. Max Hyde, District 33 Rep. Travis Moore, District 34 Rep. Roger Nutt, District 35 Rep. Bill Chumley, District 36 Rep. Rita Allison (who just lost a devastating primary race to Rob Harris who is far more extreme), District 37 Rep. Travis Long, and District 38 Rep. Josiah Magnuson.

In fact, the only House member from Spartanburg who is not on the Bill is the Spartanburg County Democratic Party Executive Committeewoman and House District 31 Representative Rosalyn-Henderson Myers, who is among the 12 House members (7 Republicans, 5 Democrats) appointed by Speaker Smith to the ad hoc committee that received public testimony on July 7.

The majority of South Carolinians do not want lawmakers to interfere with their personal decisions about pregnancy and parenting. According to a recent poll, three in four (75%) South Carolinians agree that women should have the right to make their own personal health care decisions.

Aborition bans will categorically have a greater negative impact on women, people of color, people who live in rural areas, young people, and people with low incomes. And bans will lead to significant economic consequences for both our state and for individuals who could experience four times greater odds of living below the Federal Poverty Level.

So what can you do? It sounds cliche, but getting out the vote and supporting progressive candidates across the state could make a tremendous difference this year. You have an opportunity to show up at the ballot box on November 8 and start changing the trajectory of lawmakers in the state of South Carolina.

It will take all of us to mobilize against the extremists here in our local community and across the state.

And while our local ballot is lacking in dems during this election, we can still keep the pressure on and hold accountable the Republican lawmakers who are pushing to take away our rights. We will need good, strong local candidates to contest these future races. If you're interested in running I want to hear from you. We want to hear from you. It has never been more important to get involved in the future of democracy in SC.

There are also immediate opportunities to support statewide advocacy efforts through the Women’s Rights & Network (WREN), a nonpartisan, nonprofit with the mission to build a movement to advance the health, economic well-being, and rights of women, girls, gender expansive people, and their families.

You can Organize for outreach efforts, donate, email the house ad hoc commitee on abortion rights, and tell your legislators to support S.1348, the Reproductive Health Rights Act, a bill that would repeal existing restrictions on abortion care and affirm the rights to contraception, in vitro fertilization, sex education, and all other forms of reproductive health care all at scwren.org.

Democracy is an action. This road will be long and arduous, but challenging what is happening here in our community, our state, and our country is energy well spent. It’s just our future after all.

Kathryn Harvey

Chair, Spartanburg County Democratic Party

**Public Policy Polling surveyed 636 South Carolina voters from July 1-2, 2022. The margin of error is +/- 3.9%. 50% of interviews for the survey were conducted by telephone and 50% by text message.

SPCDP Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

The Spartanburg County Democratic Party denounces the decision issued June 24, 2022 by the United States Supreme Court on the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, overturning Roe v Wade and eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.

Abortion is health care, and legal access to abortion is now in the hands of state lawmakers. We must rise up to vote lawmakers into office who will protect the rights of South Carolinians.

“Make no mistake, this decision will impact everyone in our state,” said Kathryn Harvey, Chair of the Spartanburg County Democratic Party. “It is most concerning the impact it will have on our communities of color, our LGBTQIA+ communities, our rural communities and others who already lack access to adequate healthcare in South Carolina. North Carolina may be the only accessible state when bans go into effect in South Carolina, and even that could be compromised. This is deeply, deeply personal for me.“

Governor McMaster has already filed a motion to put the six week abortion ban into effect as soon as possible, but an outright abortion ban is poised to be approved when the General Assembly reconvenes between July and November, 2022.

Spartanburg is fortunate to have representation in the fight.

Spartanburg County Democratic Party Executive Committeewoman and House District 31 Representative Rosalyn-Henderson Myers is among the 12 House members (7 Republicans, 5 Democrats) appointed by Speaker Smith to the ad hoc committee that will "study and receive public testimony on the impact of this matter in South Carolina." With this study and testimony, the committee will consider language that will be included in H.5399, a bill that was introduced as the placeholder for whatever action they may want to take starting as early as next month.

‘I was selected (to the committee) to give some diversity for my pro-choice stance," Henderson-Myers said. "I am going to use that as a sounding board to speak to the rights of women, and that women ought to do what they want with their bodies as they choose.’

Our state has some of the worst reproductive health outcomes in the country, and the majority of South Carolinians do not want lawmakers to interfere with their personal decisions about pregnancy and parenting. So, we must vote them out.

You have an opportunity to choose your democratic candidate for US State Senate in the June 28 Primary Runoff, and showing up to the ballot box on November 8 in the state of South Carolina has never been more important. Our Democratic Candidate for Governor, Joe Cunningham, has already committed to vetoing the ban once he’s in office.

There are also immediate opportunities to support statewide advocacy efforts through the Women’s Rights & Network (WREN), a nonpartisan, nonprofit with the mission to build a movement to advance the health, economic well-being, and rights of women, girls, gender expansive people, and their families. Organize for outreach efforts, donate and tell your legislators to support S.1348, the Reproductive Health Rights Act, a bill that would repeal existing restrictions on abortion care and affirm the rights to contraception, in vitro fertilization, sex education, and all other forms of reproductive health care.

Democracy is an action, so please consider mobilizing with the Democratic Party in Spartanburg and across the state. We need volunteers, poll workers, and future candidates to engage with us. And we need all voices to be heard at the ballot box this November.

Spartanburg County Democratic Party

Spartanburgdemocrats.com