Summary:
- South Carolina's six-week abortion ban has been upheld by the all-male state Supreme Court in a 4-1 decision, causing significant changes to abortion legality in the state.
- Opponents of the ban, including Planned Parenthood, are protesting outside the State House as the law comes into effect.
- The law allows exceptions for cases of saving the mother's life, sexual assault survivors up to 12 weeks, and fatal anomalies in the fetus.
- The court's majority opinion states that the legislature's policy determination favors the unborn child's interests at a certain point in pregnancy.
- This decision alters South Carolina's previously lenient abortion regulations, potentially influencing the abortion landscape across the entire South.
Well, most abortions are now illegal in South Carolina before the time many women even know they're pregnant. Today, the all male state Supreme Court upheld South Carolina's six-week abortion ban in a 4-1 decision. This comes just eight months after it ruled a nearly identical law was unconstitutional. And with the new law now in effect, State House reporter Mary Green explains what it means for the state.
Opponents Rally Against Abortion Ban
Opponents of this six-week abortion ban are rallying outside the South Carolina State House tonight, including those from Planned Parenthood. The organization operates two of South Carolina's three abortion clinics and says the majority of the 30 patients on the schedule at its Columbia clinic today were sent home once the Supreme Court ruling came down this morning.
Impact on Women and Exceptions
This is devastating. I'm not terribly surprised I felt like it would ultimately go this way. I'm obviously gratified that it did. The fetal heartbeat and protection from abortion act bans abortion after around six weeks into a pregnancy. It allows limited exceptions to save the mother's life. For sexual assault survivors, up to 12 weeks, and with a reporting requirement. And when the fetus has a fatal anomaly that would prevent it from surviving outside the womb.
Public Reaction and Court's Ruling
I'm outraged. I think this is a tragic decision that's going to have widespread consequences for women in this state. In the majority opinion, Justice John Kittridge wrote, quote, the legislature has made a policy determination that at a certain point in the pregnancy, a woman's interest in autonomy and privacy does not outweigh the interests of the unborn child to live. As a court, unless we can say that the balance struck by the legislature was unreasonable as a matter of law, we must uphold the act. That's what the court did in a four to one opinion released Wednesday, a reversal of the three to decision from January that struck down the state's previous six week ban. The focus that we had on the previous court opinion and trying to address those concerns paid off. The court's makeup also changed in that time.
Changing Abortion Landscape
Prior to this ruling, abortion had been legal in South Carolina through about 20 weeks into a pregnancy. That was one of the least restrictive limits in the Southeast. And DHEC reported the number of people from other states seeking abortions in South Carolina had skyrocketed since last fall. Not only does this policy mean that we're not going to have the destination state, but we're probably also going to reduce, almost certainly going to reduce, what we were having historically anyway. So in that respect, I mean, it's a big win for life.
Future of Abortion Laws in South Carolina
This decision is devastating not only because of the impact it will have on South Carolinians, but also because South Carolina is a critical state for access across the entire South. And in the past year, there has not been enough support in the state's Senate to pass an abortion ban more restrictive than this one at about six weeks. I spoke with members of both parties today. They seem to be in agreement that the law that's now in effect is likely going to be the one they stick with, at least for the time being. Reporting from the State House, I'm Mary Green.
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