It’s About People

SC lawmaker chokes up after teen nearly loses uterus due to anti-abortion law he voted for https://t.co/44k4RVVkSf

— Raw Story (@RawStory) August 16, 2022

Collins revealed that he had sleepless nights after learning that doctors refused to extract the fetus from a 19-year-old woman whose water broke at 15 weeks of pregnancy. 

Doctors told Collins there was a "greater than 50% chance that she's going to lose her uterus." 

He said there was also a 10% chance that the woman could die of sepsis. "That weighs on me," Collins remarked. "I voted for that bill. These are affecting people and we're having a meeting about this. That whole week I did not sleep." 

The lawmaker's voice cracked as he explained that the woman had to wait two weeks before the fetus could be extracted without a beating heart. 

"What we do matters," Collins said, pausing to collect himself. "Out of respect for the process, I'm not voting today. But I want it to be clear that myself and many others are not in a position to vote for this bill without significant changes to the bill." 

At that point, the committee chair cut off Collins and asked for a vote on the bill, which the committee approved.

It’s always about people.