Anti-abortion lawmakers were unable to muster enough support for a ban starting at fertilization that made no exceptions for rape or incest victims after two days of contentious debate. The state already has a “heartbeat” ban that prohibits abortions after cardiac activity, which occurs around six weeks. This law it went into effect at the end of June, shortly after the Supreme Court overturned it Roe, but it was blocked by the South Carolina Supreme Court in August. Instead of passing a near-total ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, the Senate passed an amended bill that reflects existing restrictions. The Senate bill bans abortion after about six weeks and includes exceptions for victims of rape or incest up to 12 weeks. The bill also includes exceptions when a fetus is diagnosed with a fatal abnormality or when the mother’s life is at risk. The 27-16 vote was largely split along party lines. The bill will now be sent to Parliament. The initial bill that senators began debating Wednesday would have banned abortions except when a pregnant woman’s life is at risk or “major bodily function,” a vague term that doctors and advocates fear could freeze the provision care in patients with dangerous pregnancy complications. Several amendments were made because there was not enough support from the Republican majority for an insemination ban or a ban without exceptions for victims of rape or incest. Doctors who violated the bill as originally proposed would face felony charges and civil penalties — including possible fined $10,000, imprisoned up to two years and loss of their medical license. Patients who obtain abortions do not face criminal or civil penalties. “I’m not going to allow that to happen,” Republican Sen. Tom Davis said after taking to the floor to briefly support the proposed ban. He recounted how his teenage daughters asked him if he would allow the legislature to take away their right to bodily autonomy in the early stages of pregnancy. Davis added that he does not believe the proposed bill amounts to a “fair balancing of the competing rights” between a pregnant woman and an unborn child. SC Republicans attack male colleagues over tough abortion bill Since his fall Roe, about 1 in 3 women have lost access to abortion in their states after the bans imposed by the Supreme Court ruling came into force. Although abortion is temporarily legal in South Carolina, and the state’s existing six-week ban has been blocked by a court, it is part of a large swath of Midwestern and Southern states that have banned most abortions, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama , Georgia and Tennessee. . North Carolina, which allows patients to terminate pregnancies before 20 weeks, remains one of the only states in the region to allow abortion care. Virginia allows abortion until the end of the second trimester, although the state’s Republican governor wants to pass a 15-week ban. Florida allows abortion up to 15 weeks. While many states had abortion bans on the books, poised to take effect once the Supreme Court overturned RoeSouth Carolina would be only the second state to pass a new abortion law after the ruling, following Indiana, which passed a near-total ban in early August. Lawmakers pushing for the measures now face mounting evidence that the public does not support the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nearly 50 years of precedent. In August, voters overwhelmingly voted against an anti-abortion amendment in Kansas, while pro-abortion-rights Democratic candidates have outperformed in recent special elections across the country. New efforts to pass near-total abortion bans suggest Republican-led legislatures are out of step with public opinion, said Elizabeth Nash, who tracks abortion legislation for the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research think tank. center that supports abortion rights. “Since Dobbs we’ve seen the public support abortion rights, but it doesn’t come to the fore with legislatures,” Nash said. Because state legislatures are so top-heavy, he added, it could be years before Republican state lawmakers are forced to bend public opinion on abortion. More anti-abortion legislation could be on the horizon: West Virginia is widely expected to pass another abortion ban when lawmakers return for a special session next week. The state legislature in that state reached a similar impasse in late July when the House and Senate could not agree on the details of a near-total abortion ban that was widely expected to pass in the deeply conservative state. Two doctors serving in the West Virginia state Senate — Republicans Tom Takubo and Michael Maroney — pushed for an amendment that would have lifted criminal penalties for doctors who perform abortions, arguing their proposed changes would prevent doctors from leaving from West Virginia, where hospitals are already struggling to attract doctors. The legislature was unable to agree on a version of the bill to move forward, adjourning for the month of August. Lawmakers have been called back to Capitol Hill to continue the debate next week. Anti-abortion leaders say they, however, expect to see state legislatures continue to step up efforts to pass new restrictions. “It’s no wonder if for 50 years you’ve been told that all roads lead through the Supreme Court,” said Kristi Hamrick, head of media and strategy for Students for Life Action, one of the largest anti-abortion groups. “Now they can go through state capitals … and there’s a lot of innovation out there.” Republican state senators in South Carolina went back and forth for hours Wednesday and Thursday considering amendments to the bill, including some that would add exceptions to the ban. A group of lawmakers pushed for a strict ban that would almost completely end abortion in the state. Another group of Republicans urged their colleagues to include exceptions for victims of rape or incest and in cases where a doctor determines that a fetus will not survive outside the womb. Sen. Billy Garrett (R) has repeatedly pushed back against the proposed exemptions, opposing calls from his fellow lawmakers to consider a woman’s right to autonomy over her own body, especially in cases of rape or incest. “The right to life, in my estimation, is the highest right of any right,” Garrett said. Ultimately, even the most vocal anti-abortion lawmaker on the Senate floor admitted there was no way the bill could pass without exceptions for rape or incest victims. “As much as I hate to be put in this situation,” Sen. Richard Cash (R), one of the most outspoken anti-abortion politicians, told a group of Republican senators who proposed a new version of the bill that included several exceptions, “I intend to vote in favor of your amendment.” Ultimately, even a ban on insemination with exceptions for rape and incest victims failed to garner enough support to pass Thursday.
