South Carolina could soon become the last state to enact stricter abortion rules – banning most procedures in the state of Palmetto.
The state Senate voted 30 to 13 on Wednesday to approve the new ban, which is expected to become law.
“Life is the most precious right we have,” said state senator Larry Grooms, who sponsored the project. “The main duty of the government is to protect the fundamental right to life. Without life, no other right really matters.”
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Governor Henry McMaster promised to sign it if he gets to his table, and the Republican-controlled state chamber passed similar legislation in previous years.
“We are closer than ever to passing the most comprehensive pro-life legislation that our state has ever seen,” he tweeted on Thursday night. “Now we are going to the House of Representatives, where we have great leaders that I know will fight for life.”
If approved by the House, McMaster said he would “immediately make it into law”.
South Carolina MP John McCravy on the left and South Carolina Citizens for Life executive director Holly Gatling on the right speak after the state Senate passed a bill that would likely ban almost all abortions in the state on Thursday, January 28, 2021, in Columbia, SC McCravy worked to pass similar bills in the House. (AP Photo / Jeffrey Collins)
South Carolina’s Fetal Heartbeat Protection Act Against Abortion would require a fetal heartbeat check when a woman seeks an abortion in the state. If one is detected, unless there is an emergency exception, abortion would not be allowed.
Exceptions include if the pregnancy is the result of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in danger.
Only one Democrat voted for the ban, State Senator Kent Williams, and only one Republican voted against, State Senator Sandy Senn.
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According to the bill, 30% of natural pregnancies end in “spontaneous abortion”, but only 5% of pregnancies end this way after a heartbeat is detected. More than 90% of pregnancies survive the first trimester, once the heartbeat is detected.
Still, if the bill becomes law, it is likely to face the same legal challenges as similar projects on heartbeat in other states, many of which remain unsolved.
“If this is confirmed by the courts, we will have saved thousands of lives in South Carolina every year,” Republican state Senate majority leader Shane Massey told the Associated Press. “This is a tremendous victory.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.