State Sen. Mike Fair Fears Ultrasound Legislation Could Hit Impasse in Conference

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State Sen. Mike Fair Fears Ultrasound Legislation Could Hit Impasse in Conference Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter Says He Shouldn't Worry, She Predicts Bill Will Pass During Interview On ETV Radio's "The Big Picture on the Radio"

For Immediate Release
April 13, 2007

STREAM AN ARCHIVED COPY OF THE PROGRAM

Columbia, SC...During an interview on Friday with ETV news and public affair's Managing Editor and Host Andrew Gobeil, on "The Big Picture on the Radio," Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville, and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, expressed differing views on whether proposed ultrasound legislation will ultimately pass this session. When asked if there were any way that the bill would not succeed, Sen. Fair said, "It could conceivably (hit an) impasse in conference. Because the House, with such an overwhelming majority did pass...what they passed. It was a huge majority."

Rep. Cobb-Hunter, for her part, had no such reservations. When asked if she felt the passage was a sure thing, Cobb-Hunter said, "Of course I do...I am a pragmatist and even though I am very much opposed to this legislation, what I am hopeful for is that when the bill reaches the Senate floor, that they will add the exception for rape and incest...But I am not worried at all, and neither should Sen. Fair be, that this bill will not be passed out of the SC General Assembly, because after all, this is the SC General Assembly."

At another point in the interview she re-iterated, "Sen. Fair really doesn't have a lot to worry about, because unfortunately, the people in the General Assembly who are opposed to this legislation don't have the intestinal fortitude to stand and say they are opposed. They have listened to this onslaught of e-mails from folk and have...just voted the way the majority of the public wants them to vote."

Cobb-Hunter said that as for Fair, when it comes to making overtures to his brethren in the House, he won't have much reaching out to do. "He doesn't have to reach very far, because there are not very many of us opposed. And quite frankly, I am under no illusion that this bill will be tabled or will not succeed."

When asked by Gobeil if she was upset with her colleagues for voting as they did, Cobb-Hunter said, "Not at all. Not at all. I have been here 15 years, and I know who is spinally challenged and who's not, so I am not upset with them. I have been here 15 years, and I am not surprised at anything that happens in this General Assembly. I am not upset with them, I stopped being upset years ago. If I got upset with votes that people take here, I'd be probably under the ground somewhere. I am not upset...it is par for the course in this General Assembly, this is how we operate."

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In still other news during the hour-long program, Sen. Fair, who said he "can't give service" to the notion that what his Subcommittee passed yesterday was a watered-down version of the original bill, said this about the proposed legislation:

Fair on why compromises were made to prevent lawsuits, saying that four years from now, there will be 4-year-olds walking around who otherwise wouldn't be, if stricter bill was passed and tied up in courts:
"We think what we did is going increase the amount of information given to women considering abortion, and we think the way we've done it will allow... this bill, if it is passed into law...to go into effect much more quickly, rather than waiting maybe three to four years of fighting...Normally, I am not intimidated by threats of suits, but the practical aspect of this is that if we can pass something more quickly that is good, and that is reasonable, more women are going to be making the choice, we believe, based on what's been happening the last 15 years, in viewing ultrasounds, we think more women will choose to go to term, and four years from now, we will have 4-year-olds walking around that wouldn't have been here if we passed legislation that's going to be tied up in the courts for all that time."

Fair on the likelihood of compromise on the bill:
"Anybody offering an answer (on how this will play out) assumes the mantle of prophet. I will tell you that we are already talking, a little bit, with some of the people involved in the passage on the House side...I have asked for their advice to review what we have done...The full committee meets next week, and we'll have an opportunity in full committee to do some technical kinds of amendments. And I have asked a couple members in the House to make recommendations to me, that they think will make what we have attempted to do in our Subcommittee, improve our work...Honestly, there is no philosophical position for anybody in America to be opposed to someone, just by virtue of having more information, making their own choice to move forward to term, as opposed to aborting the child."

Fair on if he has heard back from the House regarding overtures he has already made?
"No, I have not. But we have a meeting scheduled on Tuesday, with a couple of their people, with our request to study what we have done...So I would fully expect them to try to help me--I think they will...But that's...a lot different helping us make our Senate version better, than going...to the House version which is what we will have to do in conference. Hopefully, their (willingness) to be cooperative in helping us with this will carry over, but I can't say that it will for sure."

Fair on Roe v. Wade:
"If I could reverse Roe v. Wade today, this is my world view, my philosophy, and my view about the whole matter, I would do it."

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More from Cobb-Hunter:

For her part, Cobb-Hunter said, about her future in politics:
"...When I start worrying about polls and sticking my finger in the wind to face my vote, it's time for me to leave, and it's time for somebody else to come and do this job...the seat belongs to the people, not to me and anytime the people want to make a change, they can."

The Big Picture on the Radio can be heard Fridays at 9 a.m. on ETV Radio's four news formats: 88.1-WRJA Sumter, 89.1-WLJK Aiken, 89.9- WJWJ Beaufort, and 90.1-WHMC Conway. The program can also be streamed from www.myetv.org.

The Big Picture can be seen on ETV Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., with encore presentations on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m.

For more information, contact Catherine Christman at 803-737-3259 or christman@scetv.org.