SC State Legislators Dedicate Themselves to Making Our Lives Worse

And our federal reps are sycophants and cowards (except Jim Clyburn)

Surprising no one, our federal representatives for the Upstate were nowhere to be found during the recent Congressional recess. To be fair, they have been busy making sure big banks get their money and voting for budget resolutions that will shut down hospitals and starve children, so I get it, it must be hard to find the time to meet with the people you represent. I don’t think William Timmons, our philandering House Rep, has had an in-person town hall in four years! After cheating on his much-admired wife a couple of years ago with a married woman, he fits right in with our federal administration that protects women by releasing folks like Andrew Tate, held by Romanian authorities for rape and sex trafficking. All this exploitation of women sure takes up some time in their busy schedules!

To highlight their cowardice, Indivisible Upstate SC is hosting an empty seat town hall at the Hughes Main Library in Greenville on March 15^th. I’m sure once Timmons, Graham and Scott catch word of the event, they’ll realize the errors of their ways and rush to address our concerns (LOL). I am looking forward to working with whoever runs against both Timmons and Graham, up for reelection in 2026.

In good local politics news, Tina Belge is running for the at-large Greenville City Council seat this year. Her website just launched, so highly recommend supporting her and her campaign. Greenville City does great things, and Belge as our councilwoman, with her planning expertise and commitment to Upstate families, would be a fabulous addition to our city government.

Next week there are two hearings at the Statehouse on a couple of fascist bills, one to restrict DEI in K-16 schools, state agencies and any companies that contract with the state, and another (sponsored by SO MANY MEN) to ban all abortions from conception. Please call your state reps to oppose, and if you can make it to Columbia March 4^th, consider attending the hearings and/or testifying. I’m horrified that these bills exist at all, and remain frustrated we’re wasting tax payer dollars in an attempt to weaponize the state government to take away our freedoms. (If you need a laugh, a hilarious McSweeney’s takedown of where all those anti-tyranny don’t tread on me folks are now.)

Info to testify against H. 3457, a total abortion ban with almost no exceptions.

As if we need any more evidence of state laws eroding patient care in SC, this month a woman seeking treatment for an ectopic pregnancy in Horry County was denied surgery and pain meds for treatment. She posted videos about her experience, and when they started to go viral, medical staff pressured her to take them down and put security guards outside of her hospital room. She reached out to the Palmetto State Abortion Fund for help, and they were able to connect her with a woman OBGYN in Mt. Pleasant that performed the surgery (tragically she lost a fallopian tube). Even more evidence that we need to support organizations like PSAF with our donations, and keep the pressure up on our state representatives to overturn these laws. Women are suffering and will die because of them (in Texas, their sepsis rates have increased 50% since their abortion bans went into effect).

Another protest opportunity this week, if you’re not at the Statehouse.

To end on a positive note, we’re looking forward to hosting Dr. Kathryn Wiley at Presbyterian College on March 26^th for Women’s History Month (5:30, Neville Hall, join us!) for her talk on “The Dollar and the Damsel: The State of Modern Feminist Finance.” To support our WGS and WHM efforts at PC, consider donating to our speaker series fund here. Thanks to everyone for reading, sharing and supporting the newsletter… this is one of the things that keeps me going.