COLOMBIA, SC – The governor of South Carolina on Thursday signed a law banning most abortions, one of his top priorities since he took office more than four years ago. Planned Parenthood immediately sued, effectively preventing the measure from taking effect.
The “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Abortion Protection Act” is similar to the abortion restriction laws that a dozen states have passed. Everyone is tied up in court. Federal law, which takes precedence over state law, currently allows abortion.
“There are a lot of happy hearts beating across South Carolina now,” said McMaster during a signing ceremony at the state legislature attended by lawmakers who made the project a reality.
The South Carolina bill requires doctors to perform an ultrasound to check the fetus for a heartbeat. If detected, abortion can only be performed if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or if the mother is in danger.
The move would not punish a pregnant woman for having an illegal abortion, but the person who performed the abortion could be charged with a crime, sentenced to up to two years and a $ 10,000 fine if found guilty.
The House approved its bill by 79-35 votes on Wednesday, after hours of emotional testimony from supporters and opponents, and gave final approval to the measure on Thursday. Moments after the second vote on Thursday, Planned Parenthood announced it was filing a lawsuit. The “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Abortion Protection Act”, like other similar laws currently being challenged, is “blatantly unconstitutional,” said Jenny Black, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
Proponents of restrictive abortion laws are trying to take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court in the hope that – with three judges appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump – the court will be able to topple Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that supports abortion rights. The Supreme Court had previously ruled that abortion is legal until a fetus is viable outside the womb – months after a heartbeat can be detected, Black said.
State bills to restrict or ban abortion “are completely absurd,” said Black. “There is no other way around this.”
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson released a statement on Thursday, saying his office “will vigorously defend this law in court because there is nothing more important than protecting life.”
Legislators who supported the bill celebrated their long-awaited victory on Thursday.
“We are about to do what I’ve been trying to do for 25 years: shut down the abortion industry in South Carolina,” said Republican Senator Larry Grooms.
The Planned Parenthood lawsuit argues that the new South Carolina law “flagrantly violates nearly five decades of Supreme Court precedent”. The lawsuit claims that a high rate of women, especially African-Americans, die during or immediately after childbirth in South Carolina. The ban on abortion would further affect low-income women, who could not travel to a nearby state where abortion it is still allowed, says the process.
Black said the focus on abortion wastes taxpayer money and ignores a number of other important issues, such as health, unequal treatment of women and education, Black said.
“If lawmakers are really interested in improving life, we have a long list of priorities that they can focus on,” said Black.