SOUTH CAROLINA, October 21, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) is walking back suggestions it made last month that fathers of pre-born children consent for their mothers to abort them.
The proposed regulations would possibly update abortion accident reporting requirements, requirements for abortion licensure, “complaint reporting, patient rights, infection control,” “record maintenance,” and “fire and life safety requirements,” according to the SCDHEC, which is accepting public comment on the proposal.
However, the SCDHEC told local media that it was wrong to suggest that fathers consent to the abortion of their babies. The suggestion is no longer part of the proposed rules.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said that the proposed health and safety regulations are “extreme” and “medically unnecessary.”
“Restrictions like requiring husband’s consent, admitting privileges, denying minors’ judicial bypass[,] and mandating surgical-facility requirements are all blatantly unconstitutional,” she said in a statement. “These restrictions…are intended to shame women.”
The proposed regulations will be the subject of a December public hearing.
South Carolina law indicates that married women who live with their husbands and are seeking third trimester, late-term abortions must have their husband’s consent.
The 1992 Supreme Court case Planned Parenthood v. Casey upheld certain abortion restrictions, like 24-hour waiting periods and parental consent, but said that requiring spousal notification placed an “undue burden” on women.