COLUMBIA, S.C. (Tuesday, March 14, 2023) – Six young pro-life women all engaged in professional right-to-life work held a press conference today calling on the South Carolina Senate to pass the Human Life Protection Act (H3774) that one month ago sailed through the House of Representative by an astounding vote of 83-31.
 
The Human Life Protection Act now awaits the action of 46 Senators including 30 Republicans, who rejected a similar bill in 2021. All the state senators face re-election in 2024 unless they choose not to run. So far, the Senate has not shown the same enthusiasm for passing the Human Life Protection Act as the House has shown.
 
The purpose of the well-attended press conference was to showcase young women who believe abortion is the wrong answer for the unborn members of our human family and for their mothers. A copy of their remarks in full can be found below by clicking on the speaker’s name.
 
The women, in the order in which they spoke, are:
 
Alivia Grace Talley, a junior at Clemson University and President of the pro-life student organization Tigers for Life.
 
Brooke Larkin, the Outreach and Education Coordinator at Palmetto Women’s Center in Rock Hill, S.C.
 
Caroline Funk, Legislative Affairs Specialist for the South Carolina Catholic Conference, Diocese of Charleston.
 
Mallory Finch, creator of the podcast "Those Other Girls" with Mallory and Friends.
 
Sarah Farley, a 2022 graduate of Harvard College and Greenville resident, who began speaking out against abortion after learning that the number one cause of black mortality in the United States is abortion.
 
Valerie Berry, the Program Manager for A Moment of Hope that offers free and immediate ultrasound, financial resources, and other pregnancy support to women who have made abortion appointments with Planned Parenthood in Columbia.
 

Kicking off the press conference was Michele Talley, the Community Development Director of Palmetto Women’s Center in Rock Hill, S.C. “We are here today in strong support of (H3774) the Human Life Protection Act to protect women and their unborn babies in South Carolina,” she said.
 
She recounted the story of a woman whose husband pressured her to choose between him and their unborn child. The woman aborted the child to save the marriage, Mrs. Talley said, yet six years later the husband left the marriage. The woman told her, “There is not a day that goes by that I do not see the faces, I do not hear the noises, and I do not smell the smells that were in the abortion room that day that I experienced my abortion.” That child would be 32 years old now.
 
“Abortion always takes the life of an innocent human being, and it harms women,” Mrs. Talley said.  “Today, you will hear from six young women from around our state who represent their peers and they strongly want to support women like the one I just told you about, and the life of the unborn. Life is worth celebrating, and life is worth protecting. We strongly support (H3774) the Human Life Protection Act which protects the life of human babies at every stage of development, it protects the life of the mother from serious bodily harm, and it in no way criminalizes women.”
 
The press conference was sponsored by One Message, a coalition of pro-life and pro-family organizations in South Carolina including South Carolina Citizens for Life, the South Carolina Catholic Conference, the South Carolina Baptist Convention, Palmetto Family, the South Carolina Association of Pregnancy Care Centers, Alliance Defending Freedom, and the Christian Chamber of Commerce.  Dr. Tony Beam of North Greenville University and the South Carolina Baptist Convention and Fr. William Frei, the Parochial Vicar of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Columbia, S.C. opened and closed the press conference in prayer.
 
House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, thanked the press conference participants and sponsors. Several legislators, including Representative Hiott, were present for the press conference held between Governor Henry McMaster’s office and Lt. Governor Pamela Evette’s office on the first floor of the State House, while the senators were meeting in their second-floor chambers.
 
Lawmakers present for the press conference included Senator Billy Garrett, R-Greenwood, and Representatives John McCravy, R-Greenwood, chief sponsor of (H3774), Speaker Pro-Tempore Tommy Pope, R-York, Jay Kilmartin R-Lexington, Melissa Oremus, R-Aiken, David Vaughn, R-Greenville, and Anne Thayer, R-Anderson.