NEWS
Kentucky Governor Beshear and Candidate John Vincent Inspire VOICE Members
Two North Myrtle Beach VOICE representatives had the pleasure of meeting Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and John Vincent, Candidate, 7th US Congressional District at the July 17 reception and dinner sponsored by the Georgetown County Democratic Party.
Beshear and Vincent spoke eloquently and passionately about the importance of every citizen standing up and speaking out for issues that impact their lives and beliefs. The speakers focused on the democratic process and the right of every citizen to be heard, and their needs respected.
John Vincent, candidate for US Congressional 7th District
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear
VOICE members have attended all of the "No Kings" rallies sponsored by 50501 and Indivisible. The fight to uphold the Constitution and end executive overreach.
50 protests.
50 states.
1 movement.
During the 2025 legislative session, the House Constitutional Laws Subcommittee held a hearing on H. 3457, a dangerous total abortion ban. VOICE members testified at the hearing, urging lawmakers to reject the bill. Although it received attention in the subcommittee, the bill ultimately failed to move forward. When the legislative session adjourned in May 2025, H. 3457 had not advanced out of committee.
"Thank you for your dedication to protecting reproductive freedom and equity in South Carolina. Your voices, your presence, and your advocacy make a difference. Thanks to the overwhelming response from advocates like YOU, lawmakers heard loud and clear that South Carolinians oppose this bill."
WREN Women's Rights and Empowerment Network
Views
John Lewis’s Final Letter: A Lasting Call to Action
Shortly before his death, civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis wrote a powerful letter to be published on the day of his funeral, July 30, 2020. In this final message, Lewis shared reflections from his life along with a heartfelt charge to future generations to continue the work of seeking justice, equality, and peace
Congressman John Lewis official picture from the
National Portrait Gallery
"Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way.
Now it is your turn to let freedom ring. When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war.
So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."
The Dangerous Erosion of Women's Healthcare Rights
At 79 years old, I have lived through many changes in women’s healthcare. I have experienced both the joys and heartbreaks of pregnancy firsthand. Out of my five pregnancies, two resulted in live births, one ended in miscarriage, and two required medically necessary abortions. One was an ectopic pregnancy that ruptured, a life-threatening emergency that could have killed me. The other was a fetus that had died at 15 weeks and needed to be removed. In today’s political climate, I worry that I might
not have received the lifesaving care I needed. I could have very well died while my caregivers worked to interpret laws that may or may not cover my urgent medical needs—knowing that if their decision was deemed illegal, their livelihoods and even their freedom were on the line.
There is a growing and dangerous movement to strip abortion from healthcare, treating it as something
separate from medical necessity. But the reality is that abortion is healthcare. Our lives depend on it.
The idea that politicians—many of whom have no medical training—are now making decisions that
should be left to doctors and their patients is both infuriating and terrifying.
Worse still, there is a push to criminalize not just abortion but even discussing it. In South Carolina,
where I live, Senator Richard Cash introduced Senate Bill 323 which seeks to punish anyone who even
talks to a pregnant woman about abortion. This bill was referred to the Senate Medical Affairs
Committee. This is not just an attack on reproductive rights; it is an attack on free speech and medical
privacy. It is absurd to think that a woman could be charged with a felony for seeking information
about her healthcare options. Additionally, South Carolina is among several states moving to classify
abortion as a homicide, stating in Senate Bill 323 that "enforcement is subject to the same
presumptions, defenses, justifications, laws of parties, immunities, and clemencies as would apply to
the homicide of a person who had been born alive."
The personal has now become political in the most dangerous way. We are being treated as second
class citizens, our autonomy stripped away by laws that disregard the complexities of pregnancy,
reducing us to little more than property under the control of the government. Miscarriages, ectopic
pregnancies, and fetal abnormalities happen. Complications arise. And yet, lawmakers are crafting
policies that ignore medical reality, placing our lives at risk.
I am distressed by many things in today’s world, but this erosion of privacy and healthcare rights is
among the most alarming. I never imagined that in my later years, I would be fighting battles I thought
had already been won. We must speak up. Call your representatives and senators. Let them know that
restricting abortion access endangers lives and undermines fundamental rights. Demand that they
protect women's healthcare and personal freedoms. We must push back. Because if we don’t, the next
generation of women—our daughters and granddaughters—will face a world where their health, their
choices, and even their conversations are controlled by the state. And that is simply unacceptable.
Ellen Holliman
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY
I have three granddaughters. Their solution to today's grim pregnancy realties is this. They will seek employment in Europe and have their children there. Then, they will have their tubes tied. Then, and only then, will they return to the United States. They are professional women: taxpayers, good citizens. If problems arise that require a procedure before they can move to Europe, I have assured them that they will always have a choice. If that means care in another country, so be it.
Fortunately, we have resources.
What about families who are barely meeting their basic needs?
Poor women's choices are so limited that many will be forced to give birth. Their maternity expenses, their children's expenses like food, housing and medical care are on us taxpayers. Cost to raise one child without special needs to age 18 is $200,000 to $310,000.
Impoverished mothers cannot afford it. You and your employed constituents will be paying for the majority of forced births until they are 18. College is not affordable, so they join the ranks of the poor. Many will be poorly parented, many abused. These broken adults are our next generation of poor people who will require government assistance. Out of desperation, some will turn to crime. You may be a victim; if not physically then financially. The pattern repeats throughout the generations.
I mention the financial hit that will burden you and your constituents because humane solutions do not move you. You stand up for the fetus then kick the child to the curb. You work like hell to reduce aid to poor families. After all, why should you pay for their mistakes?
Mistakes you legislate.
Women who have no choice have my utmost compassion. Anyone who votes for this inhumane bill has my sympathy. You are either ignorant of the realities of pregnancy and people who are poor or you cravenly hunt votes from people as smug in their righteousness as you are. As Shakespeare said, "the evil that men do lives after them."
Is this the legacy you have worked for all your life?
Carol Stigger