Speaking Truth to Power on the State House Steps

As lawmakers heard testimony inside senate chambers regarding the proposed bill S.323, this SC resident took the mic outside to make sure her voice could not be ignored.

byKasey Ann Freeman

Hello, my name is Kasey Ann Freeman. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to speak in the subcommittee meeting, but those men will hear me as they leave the statehouse grounds and make their way to their cars.

I have traveled from Dorchester County to be here today to, once again, stand before men attempting to criminalize my body, my autonomy, and my grief as I speak in opposition of yet another potentially deadly healthcare ban.

I will begin by speaking for sexual assault and rape victims, such as myself, across our state. Criminalizing abortion and forcing victims—some of whom will be children or adolescent girls—to birth the children of their rapist will not create children but instead will traumatize children.

I was sexually assaulted by three previous intimate partners at the ages of 18 and 19. This includes forcible penetration and nonconsensual ejaculation. One would later force me to purchase a Plan B pill and then check my mouth to ensure I swallowed it, holding my jaw in his hand. Guilty men will never willingly leave evidence, and they will ensure their crimes are erased, whether that be through an over-the-counter Plan B pill, forcibly inducing a miscarriage, or a deadly back-alley abortion they will drag their victim through. 

I ask you: If we will face 30 years in prison, or even the death penalty, for freeing ourselves from our abusers, why should we not truly commit the crime of murder and eliminate our attackers, sexual predators, and rapists?

I also speak for all the pregnant people who will go on to endure complex, high-risk pregnancies that will put not only their own lives in jeopardy, but also their very much wanted unborn child or children.

I, at seven months along, was diagnosed with Factor 5 Leiden, a blood clotting disorder that, when progesterone levels in the body are elevated, causes one to develop massive DVT blood clots in the body. Mine was in my left leg, from my hip to my kneecap. I cannot imagine reliving my high-risk pregnancy alongside a murder investigation—all the while worrying about my health and my unborn child’s, with the potential to have to mourn a very much wanted pregnancy due to an increased risk of miscarriage.

This will not produce happy mothers or healthy babies, but will instead criminalize mourning and grief, that so many families unfortunately experience so often already. My sister Ena, stillborn at 9 months. My first pregnancy, miscarried so early on as a teenager as I suffered alone in my blue tiled bathroom on a school night, having no idea what was happening. If you wanted to protect me, my sister, or my children… perhaps opt to support reproductive healthcare, better fund women’s healthcare research, create legislation for state sponsored childcare services as New Mexico has, and focus on lowering the cost of housing, food, and formulas.

To quote my previous testimony from the hearing regarding House Bill 3457: “[this bill] will not inspire young women to have children but will inspire us to tie our tubes—as I have—to become herb gardeners, and mothers to the vulnerable you are actively working to erase.”

I will end with this. Should this Senate Bill S.323 pass, you will create more felons than our jails can house and more angry mothers than a CCSD board meeting.

No god—no matter which god you may serve, as is your right— has dominion on these grounds. These men, these representatives, do not serve any god—they serve us, their constituents.

For additional information and perspectives on S. 323, see the following IUSC articles:

> What’s Really Inside the “Unborn Child Protection Act”
> When My IUD Became a Political Question: Beatrice’s Story
> The Diocese and My Uterus: Danielle’s Story
> Justice Demands Safe, Legal Care for Women in SC
> Hundreds Rally During S.323 Testimony, But the Fight Isn’t Over