April 13, 2026
Students for Life Action calls on South Carolina Senate Committee on Medical Affairs to hold a hearing and advance the “Unborn Child Protection Act” to end surgical and chemical abortion in the Palmetto Sate.
“A civil society doesn’t allow the lives of babies in the womb to be killed for money, and it doesn’t matter how that cruel death takes place – surgical or with Chemical Abortion Pills,” said Students for Life’s Kristan Hawkins. “South Carolina legislators again have a chance to protect the least of these, and their voters are watching.”
COUMBIA, S.C. (04-13-2026) – Students for Life Action (SFLAction) President Kristan Hawkins celebrated the introduction of the SFLAction-modeled “Unborn Child Protection Act” (S.1095). The bill, sponsored by Sen. Richard Cash (R), is modeled after SFLAction’s own language in the “Life Begins at Conception Act” (H.3457) and SFLAction’s model “Anti-Chemical Abortion Pill Trafficking Act” legislation. Current South Carolina law limitsabortion at six weeks gestation with exceptions for rape and incest, life and health of the mother, and cases of “lethal fetal anomalies.”
If signed into law, the “Unborn Child Protection Act” would impose criminal and civil penalties on abortion vendors, including Chemical Abortion Pill vendors sending deadly drugs into and within the state. It would also protect Life from the moment of conception and remove the exceptions currently in South Carolina’s abortion law.
Pro-life doctors and medical professionals have been very clear that with maternal-fetal separation, an abortion designed to end a baby’s life is never medically necessary. Sadly, the baby may not live after delivery in an attempt to save both lives, but that is not the same as abortion.
The “Unborn Child Protection Act,” along with the SFLAction-modeled “Abortion Inducing Drugs Act” (H.4760), is awaiting action by the Senate Committee on Medical Affairs. SFLAction calls on Chairman Daniel Verdin, a co-sponsor of the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” and the members of the committee to hold hearings for these legislations and push them forward to the Senate floor to be voted on.
“This should be an easy vote for Sen. Verdin, who has told his voters that he is prolife. We need words to become deeds in committee,” said Hawkins. (I’ll need a link to prove he is pro-life)
The Pro-Life Generation wants action on these bills. According to a January 2026 Students for Life’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement poll conducted and released by Survey USA, nearly 7 in 10 of the Youth Vote support laws limiting abortion, and half support protecting in-person dispensing requirements for Chemical Abortion Pills to protect women from abuse (only 27% oppose).
Plus, 32% of Republican voters are less likely to vote in the upcoming midterms if they feel abortion is unaddressed by the GOP, according to a February Cygnal poll.
The introduction of the “Unborn Child Protection Act” is the result of the resolute actions of SFLAction in South Carolina, including engaging in lobby days, pressuring politicians to act, and door knocking. SFLAction will be at the statehouse on April 15 for its Unite for Life lobby day, urging legislators to pass the “Unborn Child Protection Act” and other pro-life legislation.
Here’s what the “Unborn Child Protection Act” will do in South Carolina:
- Limit abortion from the moment of conception.
- Impose criminal and civil penalties on abortion vendors by classifying committing an illegal abortion as a felony, carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison and significant fines.
- Allow the mother, father, grandparents, or legal guardians of a preborn child to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against anyone who commits an illegal abortion.
- Add Chemical Abortion Pills (such as Mifepristone and Misoprostol) to the controlled substance schedule.
- Make it a felony to manufacture, mail, distribute, or provide Chemical Abortion Pills to a person in South Carolina to cause an abortion, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to $100,000.
- Claim jurisdiction over out-of-state entities that ship these Chemical Abortion Pills into the state.
SFLAction is encouraging pro-life students and volunteers to join the fight in calling on Chairman Verdin and the Committee on Medical Affairs to push the “Unborn Child Protection Act” and “Abortion-Inducing Drugs Act” forward to the senate floor, and on South Carolina senators to pass these legislations, to save and protect the preborn children and women of South Carolina.
SFLAction’s push to get the “Unborn Child Protection Act” introduced and passed is part of our larger Make America Pro-Life Again Roadmap. Launched last November, this legislative package built upon the Gonzales v. Carhart case will help take down abortion at the state and federal level.
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 AmericaRegional 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.