South Carolina Abortion Center Closes; Abortions Drop 50 % As General Assembly Enacts Pro-life Legislation.(pro life movement United States)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

The July closing of one of four abortion facilities in South Carolina has been attributed directly to enforcement of the state's Abortion Clinic Regulation Act; and the number of abortions has dropped more than 50 percent during the 13-year period in which the state legislature passed seven life-protecting laws.

A July 18 article in the Greenville News reports that the cost of South Carolina's Abortion Clinic Regulation Act drove the Palmetto State Medical Center abortion business "out of business."

"The Palmetto State Medical Center on Laurens Road shut down this month because it was no longer economically viable," the paper reported.

Meanwhile, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control released statistics for 2001 showing a continuing, steady decline in the number of abortions since 1988, the year abortions peaked at 14,133. In 2001, the number had dropped to 7,014.

"This is a huge success," said Lisa Van Riper, president of South Carolina Citizens for Life.

"When I look at these numbers, I not only see the babies saved, but the women saved from the anguish of abortion, the fathers of potentially aborted babies, and the family that would be involved."

Mrs. Van Riper attributes the remarkable decline in abortions to the collective efforts of the pro-life grassroots movement, including SCCL's legislative agenda that has promoted 10 life-protecting laws between 1989 and 2002 (seven have been enacted into law), the work of crisis pregnancy centers, and the intensive ...