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The governor of South Carolina on Thursday signed a law banning most abortions, one of his top priorities since taking office more than four years ago. Planned Parenthood immediately took legal action, effectively preventing the measure from taking effect.
The “South Carolina Fetal Heart Rate and Abortion Protection Act” is similar to abortion restriction laws that a dozen states have already passed. All are tied up in court. Federal law, which takes precedence over state law, currently permits abortion.
“There are a lot of happy hearts beating across South Carolina right now,” Republican Gov. Henry McMaster proclaimed in a ceremony at the Statehouse attended by lawmakers who made the bill a reality.
Immediately after signing the bill, a group of lawmakers and members of the public, standing side by side and wearing masks to protect themselves against the coronavirus, began chanting the words “Praise be to God” to the tune of “Amazing Grace”.
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The House passed its bill by 79 to 35 on Wednesday after hours of moving testimony from supporters and opponents, and gave final approval to the measure on Thursday. Moments after Thursday’s second vote, Planned Parenthood announced that it was taking legal action. South Carolina’s “Fetal Heart Rate and Abortion Protection Act”, like other similar laws currently in dispute, is “patently unconstitutional,” said Jenny Black, CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic .
Supporters of restrictive abortion laws are trying to take the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes that – with three justices appointed by former Republican President Trump – the court could overthrow Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision supporting the right to abortion. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that abortion is legal until a fetus is viable outside the womb – months after a heartbeat can be detected, Black noted.
State bills to restrict or ban abortion “are patently absurd,” Black said. “There is no other way around this.”
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson released a statement Thursday saying his office “will vigorously defend this law in court because there is nothing more important than protecting life.”
Lawmakers who backed the bill celebrated their long-awaited victory on Thursday.
“We are about to do what I have 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 South Carolina’s new law “is in flagrant violation of nearly five decades of precedent set by the Supreme Court.” The costume indicates that a high rate of women, especially African American women, die during or immediately after childbirth in South Carolina. The abortion ban would be more difficult for low-income women, who could not travel to a neighboring state where abortion is still permitted, according to the lawsuit.
Black said the focus on abortion wastes taxpayer dollars and ignores a host of other important issues such as health care, unequal treatment of women and education, Black said.
“If lawmakers are genuinely interested in improving life, we have a long list of priorities they can focus on,” Black said.
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The South Carolina bill requires doctors to perform ultrasound scans to check the fetal heart rate. If detected, abortion can only be performed if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or if the mother’s life is in danger.
The measure would not punish a pregnant woman for having had an illegal abortion, but the person who performed the abortion could be charged with a felony, sentenced for up to two years and fined $ 10,000 if she is. found guilty.
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