South Carolina Senate Bill S0713

South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/13/26
• Refer: 1/13/26

Caption

Prenatal Wrongful Death

Summary

S0713 amends South Carolina’s wrongful death statutes to expressly allow a wrongful death action when the decedent is an unborn child at any stage of development. It also states that an abortion performed or induced in violation of Article 6, Chapter 41, Title 44 is prima facie evidence supporting a parent’s ability to bring such an action. Under the bill, the mother, father, or both parents may bring the action on behalf of the unborn child, and the mother and father are the only beneficiaries for that category of claim. The bill also revises settlement procedures for wrongful death and survival actions when the case involves an unborn child. In those cases, the parent who initiates the action is authorized to settle it, subject to court approval procedures that mirror existing settlement oversight rules. The measure preserves the role of probate and circuit courts in reviewing settlements, but creates special parent-based authority for unborn-child wrongful death claims and clarifies notice and approval requirements in state and federal court.

Impact

The bill would expand South Carolina’s wrongful death cause of action by defining unborn children at any stage of development as covered decedents under Section 15-51-10, and it would alter beneficiary and standing rules in Section 15-51-20 for those claims. It would also create a statutory evidentiary presumption tied to abortions performed in violation of state abortion law, potentially affecting civil liability exposure for providers or others involved in such conduct. In addition, it would amend Section 15-51-42 to give the initiating parent authority to settle wrongful death actions involving unborn children, changing who controls settlement decisions and how those settlements are approved.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available materials. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a pro-life or fetal-personhood-oriented wrongful death expansion, which typically draws strong support from abortion opponents and strong opposition from abortion-rights advocates. The absence of recorded committee action makes the overall legislative sentiment unclear from the available history.

Contention

The main point of contention is the bill’s recognition of wrongful death claims for unborn children at any stage of development, which effectively extends civil remedies into very early pregnancy and may be viewed as expanding fetal legal status. A second major issue is the provision making an unlawful abortion prima facie evidence for a wrongful death action, which could be seen as increasing civil liability for abortion providers and potentially for others connected to the procedure. There may also be disagreement over the bill’s allocation of settlement authority to the initiating parent and its limitation of beneficiaries to the mother and father in unborn-child cases, which changes the usual wrongful death framework.