A bill to ban almost all abortions in South Carolina, with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, is going into a debate in the Senate floor.
COLOMBIA, SC – South Carolina state senators, encouraged by their newly expanded Republican majority, are approaching the debate over a bill that would ban nearly all abortions in the state, with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
Bills seeking stricter limits on abortion have been debated for years in the General Assembly, failing regularly when Senate Republicans were unable to get enough votes to overcome a procedural hurdle. But opponents of abortion expressed confidence that this year will be different after Republicans won three seats in the Senate to a 30-16 lead.
The “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Abortion Protection Act” was sent to the Senate by an important committee on Thursday. It would be necessary for doctors to use an ultrasound to scan the fetus’ heartbeat if the woman appeared to be at least eight weeks pregnant. If a heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs around the sixth week of pregnancy, abortion would be illegal unless the mother’s life was at risk.
Doctors can be convicted of a crime if they do not check their heartbeat or perform an abortion in any way and can face up to two years in prison. The woman who had the abortion would not receive punishment.
Thursday’s vote establishes a clash in the Senate floor that could last for days. Democrats have successfully obstructed abortion projects and stopped almost all other businesses before and promised to do it again. Similar projects have been approved by the House before and Governor Henry McMaster promises to sign them immediately.
Opponents say that the fetal heartbeat is detected frequently before most women realize they may be pregnant, so the bill would basically make almost all abortions illegal.
And at least one Republican, Congressman Tom Davis de Beaufort, said on Thursday that he cannot vote in favor of the bill without exception in case of rape or incest.
Three other Republican senators joined him on Thursday in a failed vote to add such an exception when the bill was passed 9-8 by the Senate Medical Affairs Committee and sent to the Senate.
To overcome the lingering procedural hurdle in the Senate floor, senators are likely to need 26 votes, meaning that supporters cannot afford to lose many Republicans. Democrats appear to be uniformly against the bill.
In the 1980s and 1990s, South Carolina was at the forefront of stricter abortion laws, while conservatives took over southern states’ legislatures and made abortion a key issue. But South Carolina’s conservatives were frustrated recently, when nearly a dozen other states – including neighboring Georgia, neighboring Tennessee and Missouri – passed the most stringent bans. The laws are all tied to the courts.
The expansion of the Republican majority in the state Senate and the addition of three judges to the United States Supreme Court of former President Donald Trump – all must be opponents of abortion – have conservatives expressing confidence that South Carolina can finally pass the ban more strict.
Some opponents of abortion do not think the current bill goes far enough, saying that state law must recognize the fetus as a person from the moment of conception.
“I know this project is far from perfect,” said Republican MP Richard Cash, one of the Senate’s most strident opponents of abortion. “But we will protect all babies who have a beating heart.”
Opponents said putting the law that life begins at conception could end up banning some forms of birth control, such as intrauterine devices, and creating problems with IVF.
Meanwhile, new Republican Senator Billy Garrett said he would ask during the Senate plenary debate to ban a procedure known as spin-off abortion, which is performed in less than 1% of abortions in the state. He also wants to require doctors to tell women who choose to have an abortion by taking pills that they can reverse their decision after taking the first dose. Garrett defeated a Democratic candidate by emphasizing his opposition to abortion.
Democrats remained silent on Thursday, awaiting a fight on the Senate floor that is expected to be fierce and prolonged.
Democratic MP Kevin Johnson, noting the considerable anti-abortion sentiment in the General Assembly, said: “We do not have a high opinion of women or families in South Carolina.”
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Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.