This morning, the Conference Committee met to discuss H. 3245- the Two Trip Ultrasound Requirement Bill. Chairman Bryant informed the committee that the Senate and House Attorneys were trying to find a compromise between the two bills, and until that time, the Conference Committee would be in recess.

The Committee agreed that they would be willing to resume discussions after the session adjourns on June 3rd in order to pass  this bill. The rules state that a Conference Committee may meet during the period in which vetoes are being voted upon (June 4 – 15). 

Tell Them member Elizabeth Fort wrote a phenomenal Letter to the Editor on the Two Trip Ultrasound Requirement Bill that was published in the Spartanburg Herald Journal this weekend. Click here to read her letter.

We’ll keep you updated as the session comes to a close.

The conference Committee met yesterday on H. 3245- The Ultrasound Two Trip Requirement Bill. This first meeting was meant to “vent frustrations” and get a sense of where the challenges were in finding common ground.

The legislators began by reviewing each section of the bill, but soon found that little progress was going to be made.

Chairman Bryant was doing his best to stick to procedure, and tried to keep the proceedings on track. Representative Delleny chose to focus on the differences and seemed to be “looking for a fight.”

Senators Knotts and Hutto held their ground and urged the committee to accept the Senate language, while also looking for ways to begin discussions and find out what the true conflicting pieces were. According to the South Carolina Coalition for Healthy Families, “Senator Knotts’ main concern was the implication H.3245 will have on victims of rape and incest. He was adamant with his displeasure in the government making decisions for a women after she has gone through a traumatic experience.” 

All in all, it seems like this discussion will not have a fast ending. And while some of our representatives have heard us through more than 100 emails they have each received (thank you Tell Them members for taking action), clearly some haven’t gotten the message.

Click here to join Tell Them members and  tell the Conference Committee to accept the Senate Bill language on H. 3245.