The South Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would ban most abortions after six to eight weeks, making it the latest in a dozen states testing the limits of federal law.
The legislation, known as the “fetal heartbeat” bill because a fetus’ heart usually starts beating in six to eight weeks, was passed by the state Senate in January, after Republican seats were won in the elections from November. Republican Governor Henry McMaster said he would sign it as soon as possible, which could be Thursday, after a final procedural reading in the House.
Proponents of abortion rights say they will challenge the bill in court for violating a woman’s constitutional right to terminate pregnancy, established in the Roe v. 1973 Wade. Many players on both sides say they expect the courts to block the bill, as they have similar measures in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. Supporters on both sides say they expect states to approve more restrictions on abortion after Judge Amy Coney Barrett in October gave the United States Supreme Court a conservative 6-3 majority.
South Carolina is the first state to approve new restrictions on abortion since Judge Barrett was inducted, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.
State Representative Todd Rutherford, a minority leader, led dozens of Democrats out of the House chamber at the start of the debate on Wednesday. He called the bill “blatantly unconstitutional” and said the legislature should focus on other issues like the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, rather than getting involved in a potentially long and expensive lawsuit.