February 24, 2026
SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins Calls on South Carolina Senate Leadership to Give the “Life Begins at Conception Act” a Hearing, Calls on Sen. Leber to Do Away with Exceptions, as “All Conception Deserves Protection”
“The Pro-Life Generation makes a science-based plea for all life to be protected in law,” said Hawkins. “We reject prejudice against people based on age, sex, race, stage of development, parental income, perception of abilities, or the manner of conception. We refuse to throw some people away because of how their story began. And for each and every life, we embrace their potential and will fight for their chance to make a difference in this world.”
COUMBIA, S.C. (02-24-2026) – Students for Life Action (SFLAction) President Kristan Hawkins called on South Carolina Senate leadership to give the “Life Begins at Conception Act” (S.0781) a hearing and commended Sen. Matt Leber (R) for efforts to protect Life but argued the bill needs an edit. As it is currently written, the “Life Begins at Conception Act” provides exceptions to abortion limits in the case of rape or incest, up to 12 weeks’ gestation (three months into pregnancy). This misses the mark, as while this bill recognizes the human life that begins at conception, it assigns less value to a preborn baby based on how people view their story of conception.
“We don’t issue birth certificates in the United States with a ratings system based on how your life began,” said Hawkins. “We tried that prejudicial system once, making second class citizens of people who were born out of wedlock, and we rejected it. The Pro-Life Generation believe children should not be punished because of how people view their parents, and that all Life is sacred and deserves protection, regardless of the circumstances of conception.”
As it is currently written, the “Life Begins at Conception Act” provides exceptions to abortion limits in the case of rape or incest, up to 12 weeks gestation. This misses the mark, as while this bill recognizes the human Life that begins at conception, it assigns less value to a preborn baby conceived under tragic circumstances. But all Life is sacred and deserves protection, regardless of the circumstances of conception.
READ MORE: Rape & Incest Exceptions 101: How to Defend the Protection of All Lives
According to a January 2026 Students for Life’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement poll conducted and released by Survey USA on youth voters — which makes up nearly half the voting bloc in the nation — nearly 7 in 10 support laws limiting abortion.
Youth voters shift 7 points in favor of abortion limits if families get the help they need, with 34% more willing to support abortion limits if they knew increased support was given for mothers, children, and families by state and federal government.
Here’s what the “Life Begins at Conception Act” will do in South Carolina if amended:
- Grant legal personhood to preborn children by defining “person” to include preborn children from the moment of fertilization, recognizing preborn children as persons with full constitutional protections.
- Classify the act of committing or attempting to commit an abortion as a felony with penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $100,000.
- Establish a legal pathway for women to seek justice through civil actions against violators, with statutory damages of $10,000 per abortion and coverage of legal fees.
- Prevent state and federal funds from being used for abortion, ensuring taxpayer dollars are not used to subsidize abortion.
- Disallow abortion coverage in publicly funded health plans.
SFLAction is encouraging South Carolina voters to join the fight by telling Senate leadership to give the “Life Begins at Conception Act” a hearing and by telling Sen. Leber and Senate Leadership to amend the “Life Begins at Conception Act’ to protect ALL life, regardless of the circumstances of conception.
TO LEARN ABOUT STUDENTS FOR LIFE ACTION’S “MAKE AMERICA PRO-LIFE AGAIN ROADMAP,” CLICK HERE.
SFLAction has been extremely active in South Carolina throughout the past several legislative sessions, educating voters and engaging lawmakers. During this past legislative session, SFLAction:
- Introduced H. 3457, Human Life Protection Act.
- SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins joined former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Ken Ard on “Wake Up Carolina” and Corey Allen on “Palmetto Talk Live” to discuss the “Human Life Protection Act,” emphasizing the urgent need for GOP leadership to act on the bill and calling out Speaker Smith and Rep. Newton for stalling life-saving protections for the preborn.
- SFLAction launched coordinated efforts in the Palmetto State urging Rep. Newton and Speaker Smith to bring the “Human Life Protection Act” to a floor vote.
- Former Planned Parenthood director and now pro-life advocate Abby Johnson, along with Hawkins, sent a letter to both Speaker Smith and Rep. Newton urging them to hold a vote for the “Human Life Protection Act.”
- Kristan Hawkins joined FITS News and ABC Columbia during a news conference, calling on Speaker Smith and Rep. Newton to pass the “Human Life Protection Act.”
- Students for Life of America Regional Coordinator for the Carolinas, Alicia Foreman, joined FITSNews for one of our Lobby Days.
- Kristan Hawkins held a townhall with Jason Rapert — Clock’s Ticking for Republicans in South Carolina to Act on Pro-Life Legislation.
- Kristan Hawkins wrote an op-ed with Frances Floresca for FITSNews — South Carolina Is Pro-Life, House GOP Leadership Isn’t.
For interviews, contact [email protected].
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The Pro-Life Generation (PLG) is an umbrella organization encompassing the most-cutting edge engagement opportunities for a Vote Pro-Life First Community. PLG includes Students for Life Action (SFLAction), a 501c4, along with its 501c3 sister organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA), that together make up the nation’s largest, pro-life youth organization, managing a grassroots political and policy operation engaging Americans of all ages but with a special emphasis on the largest segment of voters — the Youth Vote. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, PLG/SFLA/SFLAction serves more than 1,400 groups on middle, high school, college, medical, and law school campuses in all 50 states. Our team has more conversations with this generation targeted by the abortion lobby than any other pro-life operation in the world, each week reaching more than 4 million across social media platforms and averaging 1.3 million video views. In addition to SFLA/SFLAction, PLG leads multiple initiatives to lead and serve the future of the pro-life movement including the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities, Standing With You, and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement . Over more than 17 years, PLG CEO Kristan Hawkins has grown the operation into a nearly $20M organization, now preparing for an abortion-free America.