Governor Henry McMaster (R., SC) observes a rally in Columbia, SC, on June 25, 2018. (Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)
The South Carolina state senate passed a heartbeat bill to ban most abortions after the point at which a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which usually occurs around six weeks’ gestation. In the coming weeks, the State Chamber will consider the bill and, if approved, will go to the table of Republican Governor Henry McMaster.
Most observers expect the heartbeat bill to be made into law this year, as approved similar measures in previous sessions and McMaster said he would sign the legislation.
This latest pro-life effort makes South Carolina one of about a dozen states that tried to ban abortion after the fetal heartbeat was detected. In 2019, these laws were enacted in several pro-life states, including Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. It was one of the most aggressive state legislative efforts to protect the unborn that pro-life lawmakers have tried.
Almost all of these pulsating bills, including iterations that some additional states tried to pass several years earlier, were overturned by judges, who ruled that the laws are unconstitutional restrictions on the constitutional right to abortion, as articulated in Roe v. Wade and subsequent Supreme Court cases.
Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers and advocacy groups have already promised to fight the heartbeat bill in South Carolina if it goes into effect. Unfortunately, until the Supreme Court decides to accept a new case that deals with the constitutionality of state regulations to protect pregnant women, further attempts to block heartbeat bills are likely to succeed.