Three Republican women who tried to protect abortion rights in South Carolina lose primary to men

Three GOP state senators who sought to protect abortion rights in South Carolina lost primaries this month to men who ran on anti-abortion platforms.

Katrina Shealy, Sandy Senn and Penry Gustafson were among a bipartisan group of five female state senators, dubbed “sister senators,” who blocked a near-total abortion ban in 2023.

During the filibuster, each of the five women took turns describing the complexities of pregnancy and the reproductive system, the dangers of lack of access to contraception and inadequate privacy laws, with all lawmakers speaking for four hours at a time. All five had buttons that read “select more women.”

Their obstruction stopped passage of the ban, which would have banned abortion at conception, with few exceptions for rape, incest and life-threatening health complications for the fetus or mother.

Following their obstacles, the five women were harassed and harassed by anti-abortion activists. The three Republicans also faced stiff opposition from within their own party — including censure and promises of primary challenges in 2024.

As a result of their coordinated effort, the group was chosen last year to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

However, women were not rewarded in this month’s primaries, with Shealy losing to Carlisle Kennedy on Tuesday after garnering just 37.5 percent of the vote.

Kennedy’s campaign website said he was “proudly pro-life” and said he would “work to protect the unborn and support policies that support mothers and families.”

Senn and Gustafson lost in the primary earlier this month. Gustafson, who represents three upstate counties, lost by a wide margin to Allen Blackmon during the June 11 primary, who won 82 percent of the vote.

Like Kennedy, Blackmon also ran on an anti-abortion platform, saying on his campaign website that those who are “born and preborn” are “worthy of protection.”

Meanwhile, Senn was defeated by Matt Leber, losing her race by just more than 30 votes.

Leber previously voted to sign a state bill into law that would ban abortion after six weeks when a “fetal heartbeat” is detected. Most women don’t know they’re pregnant until six weeks.

South Carolina is one of 14 states that prohibit abortion at almost all stages of pregnancy after Roe v Wade was repealed in 2022 – eliminating the constitutional right to abortion nationwide.

Since the constitutional right to abortion was banned in the US, total bans on the procedure have been implemented in Indiana and North Dakota. Meanwhile, abortions are banned after six weeks of pregnancy in Texas and 12 weeks in North Carolina and Nebraska.