Skip to main content
The Official Web Site of the State of South Carolina

Gov. Henry McMaster Statement on S.217, the South Carolina Personhood Act

February 20, 2018

Governor Applauds Senate Judiciary Committee’s Passage of Bill Defining Life as Beginning at Conception 

Columbia, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster today released the following statement on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s passage of S.217, the South Carolina Personhood Act.

“We must do everything we can to protect the lives of South Carolinians, to include those of the born and unborn, young and old. I believe that human life begins at conception, and I believe the people of South Carolina deserve for their laws to reflect the values they hold dear. I applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee’s decision to move this important legislation forward and ask that the Senate pass it without delay.”

In August of 2017, the governor issued Executive Order 2017-15 which prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

Additionally, in a letter to the Chairman of the Board for Personhood South Carolina, Governor McMaster recently expressed his support for S.217.