Christians for Personhood ( CP )
Columbia, South Carolina
February 25, 2018

Glory to God ! – SC PERSONHOOD ACT ( S .217) passes full Senate Judiciary Committee favorably by 12Y – 9N vote – February 20, 2018
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S.217 SC Personhood Bill PRAISE REPORT: GLORY TO GOD ! S.217 favorably passed by SC Senate Judiciary Committee as Amended ( without “exceptions” ) on Tuesday, February 20. The vote was 12 Y – 9 N, and one abstention, and one absence without proxy ( total of 23 members on Senate Judiciary Committee – 14 R, 9 D ). The LORD did a marvelous work today, responding to the prayers of His people, and using His servant Senator Richard Cash, who was the chief spokesman for the bill in a tremendous way, as Senator Cash responded to the points of attack on the Personhood Bill by several Democrats and one “Republican”. S.217 SC Personhood Bill primary sponsor Senator Rex Rice also stepped up and made important parliamentary moves at the end of the meeting when the actual voting took place.
Let’s give thanks to the LORD for what HE has done, as HE worked through even the confusion, and repeated votes, and repeated vote counts at the end of the meeting, to bring this favorable result, and place the bill, as amended with a principled amendment, on the Senate calendar.
Now we need to pursue Special Order status for S.217 so that it will actually be debated on the floor of the Senate. Please now contact the Republican Senators in the SC Senate ( http://www.scstatehouse.gov ) and urge them to advocate among their Republican Senate colleagues for Special Order status for S.217.
Praise God for what HE did this day, February 20, 2018 !
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Eleven Republican Senators raised their hands on this Third of three repeated votes in favor of Motion for a Favorable Report [ as Amended ] of S.217 Personhood Act of SC out of SC Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, February 20, 2018, at 1:12 pm [ 1:52:55 video time ].
L to R, beginning with back row:
Senators Young, Shealy, Rankin (raised hand obscured in photo above, visible on video ***), Massey, Turner [ back row ]
Senators Cash, Gambrell, Climer, Goldfinch, Rice, Talley [ front row ]
[ Plus, Senator Cash announced he had proxy vote for Senator Timmons ]
TOTAL: 12 Yes votes, for Favorable Passage [ as Amended ]
*** Note: On the first two votes conducted on the Motion for a Favorable Report, Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin vote AGAINST Favorable Passage [ First vote of three votes: 1:51:00 video time; Second vote of three votes: 1:51:55 video time ]. Therefore, it appears by exercising his authority and power as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Rankin was able to conduct multiple re-votes on the same Motion, and changed his vote after he learned Senator Senn was abstaining ( which meant there would not be sufficient votes to defeat the measure ). So on the Third vote of the three votes [ 1:52:55 video time ], Senator Rankin changed the way he had just voted twice, and voted for Favorable Passage. This is all visible on the video of this series of three re-votes on the Motion for Favorable Passage, beginning at 1:50:25 video time.
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South Carolina Legislature [ Video ]
Video Archives by meeting time
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/video/archives.php
Select Year: 2018
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 11:00 am
Senate Judiciary Committee — Full Judiciary
Agenda
Gressette Senate Office Building, Room 105
SC State House complex
Video – 1:54:05
[ Note: Meeting began late (11:19 am) and took up a different bill first; Committee deliberation on SC Personhood Bill S.217 began 11:43 am (24:00 video time), and continued until 1:13 pm (1:54:00 video time) [ 1 1/2 hrs spent on S.217 ]
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Nine Democrat Senators raised their hands on this Third of three repeated votes opposed to Motion for a Favorable Report [ as Amended ] of S.217 Personhood Act of SC out of SC Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday, February 20, 2018, at 1:13 pm [ 1:53:10 video time ].
L to R, beginning with back row:
Senators Sabb, Johnson, Hutto (raised hand at right angle to camera view, more visible on video), Malloy, McElveen, Kimpson, Bright Matthews [ back row ]
Senators McLeod, Fanning [ front row ]
TOTAL: 9 No votes, against Favorable Passage [ as Amended ]
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– The SC Personhood Act ( S .217) passed favorably, as Amen ded, by a vote of 12 Yes to 9 No, out of the full SC Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday, February 20, shortly after 1 pm.
12 Yes [ all Republicans ]
Cash, Climer, Gambrell, Goldfinch, Massey, Rankin**** , Rice, Shealy, Talley, Timmons, Turner, Young
9 No [ all Democrats ]
Fanning, Hutto, Johnson, Kimpson, Malloy, Bright Matthews, McElveen, McLeod, Sabb
… plus one abstention ( Senn (R)**** ), and plus one absent without proxy ( Campsen (R)**** ).
[ Total of 23 Senators on Senate Judiciary Committee ( 14 R, 9 D ).
Prior to the three separate ( repeated ) votes on the Motion for Favorable Passage of S.217, as Amended, there were three other matters voted upon earlier **** [ Begin 1:42:30 video time ]:
1) On the friendly Amendment: Adopted 12 – 10 [ Senn joining 11 Republicans, Rankin joining 9 Democrats ]
2) On (Rice) Motion to Table the (Senn) Motion to Recommit ( Bury / Kill ) the Bill to Subcommittee: Failed on 11 to 11 tie vote [ Rankin and Senn joining 9 Democrats ]
3) On (Senn) Motion to Recommit ( Bury / Kill ) the Bill to Subcommittee: Failed on 11 to 11 tie vote [ Rankin and Senn joining 9 Democrats ]
**** Chairman Rankin first voted against the friendly Amendment proposed by supporters of S.217; then he voted against the Motion to Table the Motion to Recommit; and then he voted for the Motion to Recommit. So in other words, Rankin voted with the nine pro-“abortion” Democrats against the friendly Amendment offered by five Republican Senators ( including the primary sponsor of S.217, Rex Rice, and the chief spokesman, Richard Cash ) supporting the Personhood Act; and then Rankin voted twice with the nine pro-“abortion” Democrats and with one of Charleston’s “Republican” S.217 Personhood opponents Sandy Senn, to send ( bury / kill ) S.217 back into the Subcommitte.
The (Rice) Motion to Table the (Senn) Motion to Recommit had failed 11-11, and the Motion to Recommit had failed 11-11, and so things did not look good for the final Motion on Favorable Passage to succeed. Pro-“abortion” Senator Malloy (D) then made a Motion for Favorable Passage [ 1:50:08 video time ] so the vote would be taken at that time. If that Motion failed 11-11 also, that meant the S.217 Personhood bill would fail to be passed favorably out of Committee.
However, on the voting on the Motion for Favorable Passage of S.217, as amended, Charleston “Republican”, S.217 Personhood opponent, Sandy Senn, was abstaining. This vote on the Motion for Favorable Passage of S.217, as amended, was taken by Chairman Rankin THREE SEPARATE TIMES ! On the first two votes conducted on the Motion for a Favorable Report, Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin vote AGAINST Favorable Passage.
[ First vote of three votes: 1:51:00 video time; Second vote of three votes: 1:51:55 video time ]. On the Third vote of the three votes [ 1:52:55 video time ], Senator Rankin changed the way he had just voted twice, and voted for Favorable Passage. This is all visible on the video of this series of three re-votes on the Motion for Favorable passage, beginning at 1:50:25 video time.
[ Begin video 1:52:00 ]
Senator Luke Rankin ( after the first two of three votes on the Motion for Favorable Passage, As Amended ):
“Did anybody abstain from voting on the last vote?”
Senator Sandy Senn:
“I did. Mr Chairman, I did because if we’re moving the entire bill forward, I cannot go with it as is, because it’s, in my view, unconstitutional. So without my further amendments, and other amendments, I’m gonna have to abstain … I don’t wanna vote, I don’t wanna vote against a pro-life measure, and I’ve already said that, but as is, this one, is totally, in my view, unconstitutional. So, rather than vote against a pro-life measure, I will abstain.”
Senator Luke Rankin
“Allright … appreciate that Senator. We gonna do this vote again [ Note: Third time ]. All those in favor of the Motion for a Favorable report, let’s see a show of hands … [ continued ]
Therefore, it appears by exercising his authority and power as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Rankin was able to conduct multiple re-votes on the same Motion, and changed his vote after he learned Senator Senn was abstaining ( which meant there would not be sufficient votes to defeat the Motion for Favorable Passage, as Amended ).
With Charleston “Republican” Sandy Senn abstaining, and with the other Charleston “Republican” S.217 Personhood opponent, Chip Campsen, absent without proxy, even if Rankin continued to vote against Favorable Passage, his negative vote would not have been able to stop the bill from being reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee. So instead, the slippery, serpentine Luke Rankin now, on the Third vote of three repeated votes in favor of Motion for a Favorable Report [ as Amended ] changed his negative vote in opposition which he had just cast twice in the last couple of minutes or so,
and now voted in favor of the Motion for Favorable Passage of S.217, as amended with the other 11 Republicans voting in favor of S.217 Personhood, resulting in an official final vote on Favorable Passage of 12 Yes to 9 No ( instead of 11 Yes to 10 No, if Rankin had again voted against S.217, as he had done on all his previous votes ! ).
It should be noted also, in Judiciary Committee Chairman Rankin’s announcement of the result of that THIRD vote taken on the Motion for Favorable Passage of S.217 as amended, he said, “11 to 9, the Bill is reported out favorably, as amended” [ SC Legislature archive video, video time 1:53:30, Tuesday, February 20, 2018 11:00 am, Senate Judiciary Committee — Full Judiciary ], that 11 to 9 count does not take into account his own vote ! [ Only takes into account the 11 Republican S.217 Personhood Bill supporters, and the 9 Democrat S.217 Personhood Bill opponents, and Senn’s abstention, and Campsen’s absence without proxy ]. So Chairman Rankin announced a vote of 11 – 9 in the Committee, however the official Senate Judiciary Committee Minutes read “the bill was reported out favorable with amendment 12 – 9“, which 12 – 9 vote result is correct.
[ Conway, Myrtle Beach, Horry County voters, please remember this in June 2020, in the next Republican SC Senate Primary !!! ]
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Summary analysis of four votes taken [ the last vote was actually taken three different times ! ]:
Basically, there was a block of 11 Republican supporters who always voted favorably for the bill; and there was another block of 9 Democrat opponents who always voted in opposition to the bill.
Then there was Senator Sandy Senn ( R – Charleston ), who voted “for” the friendly Amendment; but then voted twice in favor of Recommitting ( burying / killing ) the Bill to Subcommittee; and then, on the last vote for Favorable Passage, she chose to Abstain, rather than vote against a pro-life bill.
Finally, there was the crafty, serpentine Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Luke Rankin ( RINO – Horry ), who voted “against” the friendly Amendment with the 9 Democrat pro-“abortion” Senators; and then, like Sandy Senn, voted twice ( again with the 9 Democrat pro-“abortion” Senators ), in favor of Recommitting ( burying / killing ) the Bill to Subcommittee.
Then, using his power as Chairman to conduct THREE SEPARATE VOTES on the final Motion for Favorable Passage of the bill, as Amended, Chairman Rankin actually voted AGAINST the bill on the first two of these three repeated votes on the same Motion for Favorable Passage, as Amended. THEN, after learning Senn was abstaining, Senator Rankin CHANGED HIS VOTE and voted for
Favorable Passage, as Amended. In Committee, Senator Rankin erroneously announced the vote was 11 – 9, not accounting for his own vote. However, in the official Minutes of the Committee Meeting, the official final vote was recorded as 12 – 9, and indicating Rankin voted Yes for the bill’s passage.
It appears after Senator Sandy Senn abstained, and the votes were not there anyway to prevent the Motion for Favorable Passage, as Amended, from succeeding, Senator Rankin chose not to be the only “Republican” [ sic ] on the Judiciary Committee to vote against the SC Personhood Act S .217 in a failed effort to prevent Favorable Passage.
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Attendees in SC Senate Gressette Building Committee Room 105 prior to start of February 20, 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee Meeting with Personhood Act of SC ( S .217) on the Agenda

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Attendees in SC Senate Gressette Building Committee Room 105 prior to (late) start of February 20, 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee Meeting with Personhood Act of SC ( S .217) on the Agenda ( scheduled to begin 11 am )

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After Adjournment of Senate Judiciary Committee:
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SC Senate Gressette Bldg Rm 105, following Favorable Passage of S217 Personhood Bill, as Amended, out of Senate Judiciary Committee
Charles Butler, Senator Richard Cash, Eva Edl, Kathy Gardner, Johnny Gardner
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018
Praise the LORD !
[ Note: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin (RINO – Horry) with his hand on his head in background on left – this photo was taken at 1:14pm, just one minute after adjournment of the meeting at 1:13 pm. ]
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SC Senate Gressette Bldg Rm 105, following Favorable Passage of S217 Personhood Bill, as Amended, out of Senate Judiciary Committee
Johnny Gardner, Steve Lefemine, Senator Richard Cash, Charles Butler
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018
Praise the LORD !
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SC Senate Gressette Bldg Rm 105, following Favorable Passage of S217 Personhood Bill, as Amended, out of Senate Judiciary Committee
Johnny Gardner, Kathy Gardner, Senator Richard Cash, Charles Butler
Tuesday, Feb 20, 2018
Praise the LORD !
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– The SC Personhood Bill ( S .217) was reported out to the full SC Senate the next day,
Wednesday, February 21:
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator RANKIN from the Committee on Judiciary submitted a favorable with amendment report on:
S. 217 ( Word version) — Senators Bryant, Rice, Cromer, Martin, Corbin, Verdin, Turner, Young, Timmons, Davis, Talley, Shealy, Grooms, Peeler, Goldfinch, Climer, Gambrell, Williams, Gregory, Cash and Hembree: A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 1, TITLE 1 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT GENERALLY, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5, TO ENACT THE PERSONHOOD ACT OF SOUTH CAROLINA, TO ESTABLISH THAT THE RIGHT TO LIFE FOR EACH BORN AND PREBORN HUMAN BEING VESTS AT FERTILIZATION AND THAT THE RIGHTS OF DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION, GUARANTEED BY ARTICLE I, SECTION 3 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, VEST AT FERTILIZATION FOR EACH BORN AND PREBORN HUMAN BEING.
Ordered for consideration tomorrow.
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– The SC Personhood Bill ( S .217) appeared on the calendar of the full SC Senate,
Thursday, February 22:
CALENDAR OF THE SENATE
OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
REGULAR SESSION BEGINNING TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2018
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2018
SECOND READING
CONSENT CALENDAR
**Indicates Subject to Rule 39
**S. 217 ( Word version)–Senators Bryant, Rice, Cromer, Martin, Corbin, Verdin, Turner, Young, Timmons, Davis, Talley, Shealy, Grooms, Peeler, Goldfinch, Climer, Gambrell, Williams, Gregory, Cash and Hembree:
A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 1, TITLE 1 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT GENERALLY, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5, TO ENACT THE PERSONHOOD ACT OF SOUTH CAROLINA, TO ESTABLISH THAT THE RIGHT TO LIFE FOR EACH BORN AND PREBORN HUMAN BEING VESTS AT FERTILIZATION AND THAT THE RIGHTS OF DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION, GUARANTEED BY ARTICLE I, SECTION 3
OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE, VEST AT FERTILIZATION FOR EACH BORN AND PREBORN HUMAN BEING.
(Read the first time–January 10, 2017)
(Reported by Committee on Judiciary–February 21, 2018)
(Favorable with amendments)