Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has been named the South Carolina Citizens for Life 2006 Legislator of the Year.

Graham earned the designation for, “personal efforts and attention to the passage of the South Carolina Unborn Victims of Violence Act signed into law on June 2, 2006, by Governor Mark Sanford.” During the debate in the South Carolina General Assembly, Graham made calls and urged both Republican and Democratic leaders to put aside their differences and pass Unborn Victims legislation on the state level.

South Carolina Citizens for Life also praised Graham for his work in Washington as the original author of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVVA). The legislation recognizes the mother and unborn child as victims when they are injured or killed during the commission of a federal crime.

After years of congressional wrangling and many distortions made by opponents of the legislation, the UVVA passed Congress and President Bush signed it into law on April 6, 2004. The National Right to Life Committee called the new federal law, “a landmark right-to-life victory.”

The Legislator of the Year designation was bestowed on Graham at the 34th Annual Stand up for Life March and Rally in Columbia on Saturday, January 13, 2007.

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