South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 1158 — Human Embryos

Last action — Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 29, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING CHAPTER 140 TO TITLE 44 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE GENETIC MODIFICATION OF HUMAN EMBRYOS TO ALTER THE BIOLOGICAL SEX OF A HUMAN EMBRYO, TO CREATE PENALTIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

37 added · 7 removed

Plain-language change summary

The latest version of Bill S 1158 adds a section to the South Carolina Code that specifically prohibits the genetic modification of human embryos to change their biological sex. This amendment comes with established penalties for anyone who tries to perform such modifications. This change is significant because it aims to prevent ethical concerns surrounding the manipulation of human genetics, particularly regarding the potential implications of controlling biological sex.

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2025-2026 Bill 1158 Text of Previous Version (Apr.
29, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 1158Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.) DRAFT PREPARED BY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL For:
Sen.
Leber Attorney:
Ravenel Drafting Assistant:
Date:
April 14, 2026 DOC.
ID.:
/LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL/VR/DRAFTS/LC-0504VR26/LC-0504VR26.DOCX     A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING CHAPTER 140 TO TITLE 44 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE GENETIC MODIFICATION OF HUMAN EMBRYOS TO ALTER THE BIOLOGICAL SEX OF A HUMAN EMBRYO, TO CREATE PENALTIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Title 44 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
  CHAPTER 140   Genetic Modification of Human Embryos       Section 44-140-10.
No practitioner or facility shall knowingly perform, attempt to perform, or assist in the performance of genetic modification that alters the biological sex of a human embryo.
      Section 44-140-20.
(A) A person who violates Section 44-140-10 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than twenty thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, and the person's professional license must be revoked by the applicable licensing body.
    (B) Each alteration of the biological sex of a human embryo in violation of Section 44-140-10 shall constitute a separate offense for purposes of this chapter.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on April 29, 2026 at 02:24 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Medical Affairs

  2. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 168 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (168)

168 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 168 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

healthcare technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 1158 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING CHAPTER 140 TO TITLE 44 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE GENETIC MODIFICATION OF HUMAN EMBRYOS TO ALTER THE BIOLOGICAL SEX OF A HUMAN EMBRYO, TO CREATE PENALTIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Who sponsors S 1158?
S 1158 is sponsored by Senator Matthew W. "Matt" Leber and Senator Daniel B. "Danny" Verdin III.
What is the current status of S 1158?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 29, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 1158?
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Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

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