South Carolina bill seeks to extend life insurance coverage to embryos - ABC Columbia
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Mar 25, 2024 5:51 PM EDT ABC Team,
(WCIV) — On Tuesday, a bill involving life insurance coverage entered the South Carolina House. If passed, it would require insurers that issue individual life insurance policies, to offer life insurance coverage for embryos in South Carolina.
The primary sponsor of the bill says the intention is to give an embryo the same individual rights born children have, meaning if something happens to them, someone should be held liable. Lawmakers hope this bill will give a child's life a clear beginning, allowing decisions to be made for their future.
"Over the years with our own abortion debates here in South Carolina, because in South Carolina, we want to say that life begins at conception, and we've been banning abortions. But when I say that life begins at conception, well, that means that when life begins, that these unborn children should be afforded every single right that you and I have," Representative Jermaine Johnson, the primary sponsor of the bill, said. " That means at the point that we deem life to begin, they should be able to have a social security number. They should be able to have life insurance, or they should be able to have these different types of rights that you and I have."
Representative Johnson says the inspiration behind the bill came from a recent ruling in Alabama, which declared that frozen embryos can be considered children under their state law.
The ruling was made after three couples' frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic.
Now, South Carolina lawmakers want a law in place that could hold someone liable for the damage to an embryo.
"We saw in Alabama where they ruled that frozen embryos could be considered people, and this is one of the things that we need to make sure that we're protecting individuals here in South Carolina. Because we know we kind of follow suit in these, in these states with introducing legislation," continued Representative Johnson as he talked about Alabama's recent ruling. "And we want to make sure that people are protected, that they have the right to IVF, that we want to protect families however they want to bring forth children and bring forth life. Because life is beautiful and you we just want to make sure we protect these individuals."
The new bill currently sits in the House Judiciary committee and Representative Johnson believes it will be there for some time, but he says he is willing to hear what other lawmakers want to change or add.
Categories:Local News,News,Politics,StateTags:South CarolinaShare
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I'm wondering what the payout for miscarriage will be OR if life insurance carriers would leave the state rather than participate in this farce?
Something else for insurance companies to bother us with ads about.
This makes about as much sense of paying reparations to supposed descendants of slaves.
I understand my decedents were fed to the lions in Rome. I am still waiting for my check.
So this is something the government should be concerned about? Sad but hardly a surprise.