BOSTON (AP) — Five female senators from South Carolina who formed a bipartisan coalition to filibuster a near-total abortion ban in their state have been chosen to receive this year’s John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
A special International Profile in Courage Award will honor South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for their efforts to improve relations between their countries despite domestic opposition.
During the filibuster, the senators — Republicans Katrina Shealy, Sandy Senn and Penry Gustafson, Democrat Margie Bright Matthews and independent Mia McLeod — took turns discussing “the complexities of pregnancy and the reproductive system, the dangers of lack of access to contraception , and inadequate privacy laws,” awards officials said in a written statement.
Officials noted that members of the coalition, who became known as the “sister senators,” were harassed by anti-abortion activists and that the three Republicans also faced strong opposition from their own party — including censure and promises of primary challenges in 2024 .
Despite the filibuster, the South Carolina Legislature was later able to pass the measure that would ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy — before most people know they are pregnant.
“We in the South Carolina Legislature are not God. We don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s life. We have no right to make decisions for anyone else,” Shealy said at the time, urging other members of her party to introduce a 12-week abortion ban instead.
US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy said the purpose of the Profile in Courage awards is to honor leaders who have taken conscientious stands and risked their careers by putting the public interest ahead of their own political position.
“The women of the South Carolina Senate are an example to those who seek justice and individual freedom at all levels of government,” she said in a statement. “President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida are doing the hard work of reconciliation in pursuit of a more peaceful policy. world.”
Kennedy and her children Jack Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg, members of the Profile in Courage Award Committee, will present the awards on October 29 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.
President Kennedy’s book, “Profiles in Courage,” tells the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers by taking principled stands for unpopular positions. The award was established in 1989 by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
Previous winners include Presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford and George HW Bush.
Last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was one of five people to receive the award for his efforts to protect democracy.
