GOP Bill In South Carolina Would Make Abortions Punishable By Death

The Hill: South Carolina GOP Lawmakers Propose Death Penalty For Women Who Have Abortions
Republican lawmakers in South Carolina are considering a change to the state’s criminal code that would make a person who gets an abortion eligible for the death penalty. The bill being considered in South Carolina, dubbed the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023, would redefine “person” under state law to include a fertilized egg, giving it at the point of conception equal protection under the state’s homicide laws, including the death penalty. (Neukam, 3/13)

Rolling Stone: 21 South Carolina GOP Lawmakers Propose Death Penalty for Women Who Have Abortions
The bill was authored by Rep. Rob Harris, a registered nurse and member of the Freedom Caucus; it has attracted 21 co-sponsors to date. (Two former co-sponsors — Rep. Matt Leber and Rep. Kathy Landing — asked to have their names removed as sponsors of the bill. Leber and Landing could not be reached for comment.)  Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican who represents South Carolina in the U.S. House, took to the floor on Friday to call attention to the bill, which she sees as part of a “deeply disturbing” trend. (Multiple Texas lawmakers have floated the idea of executing women who have abortions in the past. Those bills, proposed before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, failed.) (Stuart, 3/13)

Abortion news from Ohio —

AP: Abortion-Rights Proposal Moves A Step Closer To Ohio Ballot
Backers of a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution can begin collecting the more than 413,000 voter signatures required to put the issue before voters this fall, after the petition cleared another hurdle Monday. The constitutional amendment moves to the signature-gathering phase after the Ohio Ballot Board confirmed the petition language contains only one proposed amendment. (3/13)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Abortion Amendment: Signature Collection Begins For Fall Ballot
Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, noted that she was "horrified at the thought" of the amendment being added to the Ohio Constitution but had a procedural role to fulfill. She joined the unanimous vote. Proponents now have until July 5 to collect 413,446 valid signatures from at least 44 counties. If they do, the measure will be placed on Ohioans' November ballot. (Balmert, 3/13)

From Missouri and California —

The Kansas City Beacon: Many Worry Missouri's Abortion Ban Will Worsen Mortality Rates
Kristen Mason knows that the months during pregnancy and after childbirth can be difficult, lonely and even dangerous — especially in her home state. The United States is in the midst of a maternal mortality crisis and Missouri has some of the nation’s poorest outcomes. (Cunningham, 3/13)

Los Angeles Times: 17 New Bills Aim To Bolster California's Role As Abortion Sanctuary
Democratic lawmakers introduced a package of bills on Monday to further bolster California’s role as an abortion haven after last year’s repeal of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe vs. Wade. (Arredondo, 3/13)

Politico: Newsom’s Former Chief Is Repping Walgreens In Abortion Pill Fight 
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to cut off Walgreens over its plan to scale back access to abortion pills, panicked representatives for the company raced to call his aides for clarity about the state’s retaliatory policy. As the standoff unfolded, the governor’s senior staff heard a familiar voice come over the phone as a lead representative for Walgreens: Ann O’Leary. An attorney and crisis manager who served as senior policy adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, O’Leary is viewed in Washington’s Democratic circles as a policy powerhouse with a golden Rolodex to match. (Cadeloago, 3/13)

On protecting your reproductive and online data —

Axios: Texas Abortion Lawsuit Renews Activists' Calls For End-To-End Encrypted Messaging
A recent lawsuit in Texas against women who helped a friend access abortion medication is renewing calls for tech giants to make end-to-end encryption the default on their messaging services. ... he plaintiff's complaint is based on text messages among the women — making real a long-held fear that people's digital communications will be weaponized after the overturn of Roe v. Wade. (Sabin, 3/14)

Houston Chronicle: Harris County May Spend $6M To Expand Access To Reproductive Care In Wake Of Texas Abortion Ban
Harris County officials on Monday proposed a $6 million reproductive health care fund to expand access to contraception and preconception health screenings as part of an effort to boost services after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, triggering Texas' strict abortion ban.

Fierce Healthcare: SXSW 2023: How Health Apps Should Protect Privacy Post-Dobbs
There's a big angle based on the sheer amount of information that we share with our phones and other technology in the course of our daily lives," said Alexandra Reeve Givens, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, while speaking on a panel at the SXSW 2023 conference this weekend. Online search history, browsing history, private messages with friends or with a loved one and location information are now "up for grabs" she noted. "That sounds like a little bit of melodrama, but we've actually already seen prosecutions where this type of evidence is being used. It's a new landscape and we need to think about new interventions to address it," Givens said. (Landi, 3/13)