May 6, 2025
Pro-Life Leaders Kristan Hawkins, Abby Johnson & Jason Rapert to Hold News Conference at South Carolina State House Urging Speaker Murrell Smith Jr. and Rep. Weston Newton to Bring Up Human Life Protection Act for a Vote
As Lawmakers Stall the Human Life Protection Act, to end all abortions in the Palmetto State, Pro-Life Leaders Urge Immediate Vote to Protect Preborn Children
“In the face of dishonest attacks and political cowardice, the Pro-Life Generation will step up our efforts to save preborn babies,” said Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins. “It’s clear that South Carolinians are watching. They replaced the ‘Sister Senators’ who previously stopped this bill from passing in 2023 in last year’s elections. They’ve signed the petitions. They’ve shown up. Now, we’re demanding their voices be heard in chamber.”
For media inquiries, contact [email protected].
COLUMBIA, SC (05-06-2025) As part of Students for Life Action’s (SFLAction) ongoing push for life-saving policies in South Carolina, SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins; Abby Johnson, founder of And Then There Were None (ATTWN) and former Planned Parenthood director; and Jason Rapert, the Association for Christian Lawmakers and former Arkansas senator will host a news conference at the South Carolina State House first floor lobby outside the House Chamber at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7th. Together, they will call on Speaker G. Murrell Smith Jr. and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Weston Newton to hold an up-or-down vote on H. 3457, the Human Life Protection Act, which would protect the lives of up to 5,000 preborn children every year in South Carolina.
MEDIA ADVISORY: Join SFLAction at the South Carolina State House first floor lobby outside the House Chamber on Wednesday, May 7, at 1 p.m. for a news conference urging Smith and Newton to bring up the Human Life Protection Act for a vote.
This event comes after Hawkins and Johnson sent a letter to South Carolina lawmakers, urging them to protect preborn babies by passing the Life at Conception legislation.
All session long, SFLAction has been mobilizing our student volunteers and pro-life voters— knocking on more than 3,000 doors, sending almost 300,000 texts, and working to change minds & direct new activists to join the fight. In response, more than 4,000 went to lawmakers— urging them to vote on this life-saving legislation.
SFLAction also set up a Cemetery of the Innocents display with a collection of more than 1,000 crosses on State House grounds, representing the approximate number of lives lost to abortion in the Palmetto State during the legislative session.
READ MORE: No More Delays: Students for Life Action Demands a Vote on Life at Conception Bill in South Carolina, Urging Hold-Out Lawmakers to Act
“Following a series of baseless and low-quality attacks against our efforts, it’s clear we’ve gotten the attention of the political establishment—and we are only pressing harder,” said Hawkins. “As a bold symbolic gesture, Abby and I will deliver plastic spines to South Carolina lawmakers, calling on Reps. Smith and Newton to show the courage needed to advance the Human Life Protection Act and to stand unapologetically for life.”
In addition to the attacks on SFLAction, Smith’s PAC, South Carolina Growth & Freedom Alliance, also attacked the bill sponsor, Rep. John McCravy.
“Want more proof that @schousespeaker isn’t pro-life?” Hawkins said on X. “His PAC is now targeting a 100% pro-life GOP member, Rep. John McCravy, of his own chamber because he is pushing him to allow the ‘Life at Conception’ bill to come for a floor vote.”
This betrayal of the pro-life base will not be forgotten. South Carolina voters are watching, and they will remember at the ballot box, as they did when replacing the “Sister Senators,” an effort that SFLAction championed.
MEDIA ALERT: For questions about the event, email: [email protected]
READ: ALERT: THE GOP IN SOUTH CAROLINA MAY BE CAVING TO THE ABORTION LOBBY.
READ: Final Pro-Abortion “Sister Senator” Gets Taken Down in South Carolina Run-Off Victory
READ: Pro-Abortion Republicans Championed by New York Times DEFEATED in South Carolina Primary Races by Pro-Life Candidates
READ: Students for Life Action Delivers Moving Boxes to South Carolina Senators Who Betrayed Life
To learn more about SFLAction’s work in South Carolina, click here.
To learn more on the federal slate of South Carolina as reported in SFLAction’s Pro-Life Generation Report Card, click here.
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 1,500 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.