COLUMBIA, SC (AP) – The Governor of South Carolina signed a bill on Thursday banning most abortions, one of his top priorities since taking office more than four years ago. Planned Parenthood was immediately charged, effectively preventing the new law.
The South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act is similar to the abortion control laws passed by a dozen states before. All are tied up in court. Federal law, which takes precedence over state law, currently permits abortion.
“There are many happy hearts beating all over South Carolina,” Republican Governor Henry McMaster declared at a ceremony at the Statehouse attended by lawmakers who made the proposal a reality.
Right after he signed the bill, a group of lawmakers and members of the public standing shoulder to shoulder wearing masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus began chanting the words “Praise God” to the tune of “Amazing Grace.”
The House approved the bill on Wednesday with 79-35 votes after hours of emotional speeches by supporters and opponents, and the measure gave final approval on Thursday. Shortly after Thursday’s vote, Planned Parenthood announced it was filing a lawsuit. South Carolina’s law, like that of other states 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 Republican former President Donald Trump – the court could overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision in support of abortion rights. 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 limit or ban abortion “are downright absurd,” she said. “There is no other way around it.”
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson issued a statement on Thursday saying his office “will vigorously defend this law in court because nothing is more important than protecting lives.” He stood next to McMaster while the governor signed the bill.
Abortion opponents have pushed for the ban for years, but it got stuck at a procedural hurdle in the Senate. Republicans secured three seats in the Senate in the November elections, and the bill was listed in the tabs “Senate Law No. 1”. to show that it had the highest priority.
“We’re about to do what I’ve been trying to do for 25 years: shut down the South Carolina abortion industry,” said Republican Senator Larry Grooms just before the governor signed the bill.
Democrats say Republicans have wasted tax money by passing a bill that everyone knew would be challenged in court. They also argue that there are more important issues that need their attention, such as COVID-19, health care and education.
“We are tired of hypocrisy,” said House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford. Rutherford said Democrats are also fed up with lawmakers across the aisle telling them they don’t care about life.
“We care about life to death. We care about birth. … We care about people who eat, people who don’t die because they can’t get vaccines, ”he said.
The Planned Parenthood and The Center for Reproductive Rights lawsuit argues that South Carolina’s new law “is a blatant violation of nearly five decades of established Supreme Court precedent.” The suit says a large number of women, especially African Americans, die during or immediately after giving birth in South Carolina. The abortion ban would hit hardest on low-income women, who wouldn’t be able to travel to a nearby state where abortion is still allowed, the lawsuit says.
A hearing to determine whether the law should be suspended while the lawsuit is underway is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Like Democratic lawmakers, Black said the focus on abortion not only wastes money fighting established legislation, but ignores a host of other important issues.
“If lawmakers are really interested in making lives better, we have a long list of priorities to focus on,” she said.
South Carolina law requires doctors to perform ultrasounds to check for a heart rate in the fetus. If one is discovered, the 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 does not penalize a pregnant woman for undergoing an illegal abortion, but the person who performed the abortion could be charged with a felony, sentenced to two years, and fined $ 10,000 if found guilty.
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