US state mulls death penalty for women who get abortion

More than 20 Republican lawmakers in South Carolina have proposed a bill that would classify women who have had abortions as murderers and eligible for death penalty by redefining life to include an unborn fetus.

The South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023 aims to redefine "person" to include "an unborn child at any state of development and to ensure that an unborn child who is a victim of assault is afforded equal protection under the assault laws of the state" and "to abolish abortion in this state as a legal act".

Abortion is legal in the state until 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy.