A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 16-15-260 SO AS TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF COERCION TO OBTAIN AN ABORTION; TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Article 1, Chapter 15, Title 16 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 16-15-260. (A) Coercion to obtain an abortion is the unlawful act of a person engaging in coercion with knowledge that a woman is pregnant and with the intent to compel the woman to obtain an abortion when the woman has expressed her desire to not obtain an abortion.

    (B)(1) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; or

       (2) If the person violating the provisions of subsection (A) is the father or the putative father of the pregnant woman's unborn child and, at the time of the violation, the person is eighteen years of age or older and the pregnant woman is a minor under the age of eighteen years of age, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

    (C) As used in this section:

       (1) "Abortion" means the same as defined in Section 44-41-610.

       (2) "Coercion" means any of the following:

           (a) threatening to harm or physically restrain an individual or the creation or execution of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause an individual to believe that failure to perform an act would result in financial harm to, or physical restraint of, an individual;

           (b) abusing or threatening abuse of the legal system, including threats of arrest or deportation without regard to whether the individual being threatened is subject to arrest or deportation under the laws of this State or the United States;

           (c) knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document or any other actual or purported government identification document from an individual without regard to whether the documents are fraudulent or fraudulently obtained; or

           (d) facilitating or controlling an individual's access to a controlled substance, as defined in Section 44-53-110, and amendments thereto, other than for a legitimate medical purpose.

       (3) "Financial harm" means any of the following:

           (a) any loan, promissory note, or other credit instrument that provides for interest at a rate that is prohibited by state or federal law;

           (b) any employment contract or other agreement for the payment of wages that violates Chapter 10, Title 41;

           (c) blackmail as defined in Section 16-17-640; or

           (d) any other adverse financial consequence.

       (4) "Unborn child" means the same as defined in Section 44-41-610.

 

SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

----XX----