We have an exciting panel of advocates/activists/professionals who have been on the front lines of women’s rights, women’s health, and reproductive justice lined up to discuss next steps in South Carolina. As of this writing, we don’t know what the final bill will look like. But we can pretty much guess where it’s going. If it even remotely resembles the bills we’ve been reading about, SC will be one of the worst – if not the worst – states in the country to be a pregnant woman.
Our work cannot end once the bill is signed.
Our June meeting (June 12 at noon; the Kroc Center, 424 Westfield St., Greenville) is going to be a panel discussion focusing on what happens going forward. How do we manage with what we have while working to change it for the future?
Our panelists:
Dr. Dawn Bingham will address the impact of the legislation on the medical community, options that may be available, the collision of the legal risks and the oath to “do no harm.” Dr. Bingham is a board certified OB/GYN, who is chair of the South Carolina section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She’s also an assistant professor at the USC School of Medicine. And practices at Prisma Health Richland Hospital, is on the Board of Trustees, and was the 2021 recipient of the Prisma Health System’s “Woman of Impact” award. She has been a tireless advocate for the health and welfare of women and a frequent speaker at the SC State House. In her ACOG role, she has been part of the team that has lobbied Congress on behalf of the OB/GYN medical community.
Vicki Ringer will focus on legislative possibilities. Vicki is the director for public affairs and chief lobbyist for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. She is responsible for public policy and legislative affairs, working to preserve reproductive health rights in the state. A graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in journalism, Vicki’s pre-Planned Parenthood career included serving as press secretary for several state agencies and owning her own PR firm. Vicki lives in Lexington with her husband Charlie and “spoiled” rescue pups Jack and Lucy. She is a proud new grandmother of the world’s “most amazing boy.”
Marsha Wallace will talk about how philanthropy, coupled with community, can make a difference. The co-founder of Dining for Women (now Together Women Rise), Marsha is launching a national giving circle to raise money to address the very real needs for impacted women on two fronts: practical and political.
Her endeavor – the We The Women Project – will focus bringing a community of concerned women together to share their stories, to increase awareness of legislation – both positive and negative – across the country, and to exponentially increase the power of small donations by aggregating them through a central giving circle platform.
Each presenter will give a 5-7 minute presentation, followed by an open discussion fueled by your questions. We want to get questions in advance for this program so we are asking you to submit your questions in advance. Please include your full name and email address, in case we need to reach out to you for any additional information or clarity.
While “getting woke” about how each of these segments are focusing on the issue, we’ll also get action steps. We are not done. This is not over.