This week, S.C. Citizens for Life (SCCL) made a direct pitch to Senator Luke Rankin asking him to pass the Heartbeat Bill.
They are asking Horry County residents to call Luke Rankin directly. His phone number is posted on videos widely broadcast by the group. The ads read: The Heartbeat Bill (H.3020) needs to be voted on in the SC Senate. Contact Sen. Luke Rankin at 803-212-6610 and let him know it’s time to bring the Heartbeat Bill to the floor for debate.
The bill would prohibit abortions after a heartbeat can be detected, which is usually when a woman is six weeks pregnant.
Despite having a 12 vote majority in the S.C. Senate, Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield told local news, “From my impression right now is we don’t have the votes. I think it’s good policy, if there’s a heartbeat there’s a life and we ought to protect it. But, it’s pretty clear to me based on where we were two years ago and nothing significantly has changed since then, that we don’t have the votes to pass it.”
NO ROLL CALL VOTE ALLOWED
What residents find most troubling is that Senate leadership is not allowing a roll call vote on the bill. A roll call vote is one in which each senator votes “yea” or “nay” as his or her name is called.
There are 46 S.C. Senators. Horry County residents agree that Hugh Leatherman of Florence and Luke Rankin of Conway are the two most powerful in the state. Both of these powerful leaders were once solid Democrats who changed the D behind their names to R once the South started turning red.
Of the 46 Senators, 27 are Republican and 19 are Democrats.
The group, Citizens for Life, believes Horry County Senator Luke Rankin is blocking a roll call vote on the bill.