A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 44-6-120 SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR AFFILIATED PROVIDERS DEEMED ABORTION CLINICS AS DEFINED BY LAW MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED QUALIFIED TO PROVIDE FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES; AND TO PROHIBIT THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FROM DIRECTING MEDICAID FUNDS TO SUCH ORGANIZATIONS.

 

Whereas, the State of South Carolina has a strong culture and longstanding tradition of protecting and defending the life and liberty of unborn children, and recognizes that the availability of women's health and family planning services is important in providing for healthy families and children; and

 

Whereas, to that end, while the State Department of Health and Human Services ("DHHS") expends taxpayer dollars to pay for healthcare services, including family planning services, state policy clearly prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for abortion services, including abortion services provided by family planning service providers; and

 

Whereas, for example, in 1995, the General Assembly enacted Section 43-5-1185, which prohibits the use of state funds appropriated for family planning to pay for an abortion and in 2017, Governor Henry McMaster issued Executive Order 2017-15 directing DHHS to pursue all available methods and to take all necessary actions to exclude abortion clinics from receiving taxpayer funds for any purpose including, but not limited to, seeking any and all requisite waivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and

 

Whereas, more recently, in 2018, Governor McMaster vetoed the family planning appropriation in DHHS's budget and issued Executive Order 2018-21 by which he directed DHHS "to deem abortion clinics, as identified by Section 44-41-75 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended, and any affiliated physicians or professional medical practices, as identified by Executive Order 2017-15, that are enrolled in the Medicaid program as unqualified to provide family planning services and, therefore, to immediately terminate them upon due notice and deny any future such provider enrollment applications for the same," after which litigation ensued, culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court decision Medina v. Planned Parenthood of the South Atlantic, 606 U.S. __ (2025), which affirmed the right of the State of South Carolina to determine which organizations meet the qualifications to be a Medicaid provider, upholding Governor McMaster's Executive Order 2018-21 and thereby allowing the State to deem organizations that provide abortion services or their affiliated providers as unqualified. Now, therefore,

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Article 1, Chapter 6, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 44-6-120.  Any facility deemed an abortion clinic as defined by Section 44-41-75, and any affiliated physicians or professional medical practices, must be deemed unqualified to provide family planning services as part of the South Carolina Medicaid program pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1396a(a)(23)(A). Accordingly, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services may not direct Medicaid funds for family planning services to any organizations providing abortion services, as these organizations are not qualified to participate in the South Carolina Medicaid program.

 

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

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