Understanding the SC 6 Week Abortion Ban
On Wednesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state’s SC 6 week abortion ban by supporting the initial interpretation of when a heartbeat begins.
All the justices agreed that even though the medical terminology in the 2023 law was unclear, both proponents and critics of the SC 6 week abortion ban appeared to understand it as prohibiting abortions after six weeks until Planned Parenthood’s legal challenge to the entire law was unsuccessful in the past.
The law says abortions cannot be performed after an ultrasound can detect “cardiac activity, or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac,” as part of the SC 6 week abortion ban.
The state contended that the point at which cardiac activity is detected by an ultrasound is crucial. Planned Parenthood asserted that the language following or indicates that the prohibition should commence after the main components of the heart unite and repetitive rhythmic contraction starts, typically occurring around nine weeks.
The justices recognized the lack of medical precision in South Carolina’s heartbeat provision, similar to language found in laws of other states. However, they highlighted the importance of examining the General Assembly’s intent, which clearly indicated that lawmakers from both sides viewed it as a six-week ban.
“We could find not one instance during the entire 2023 legislative session in which anyone connected in any way to the General Assembly framed the Act as banning abortion after approximately nine weeks,” Associate Justice John Few wrote in the court’s opinion.
The law’s opponents suggested changes regarding the commencement of child support payments at six weeks, but these proposals were rejected by the justices.
The Supreme Court noted that Planned Parenthood had referenced the six-week ban over 300 times in earlier documents. South Carolina’s 2021 ban on cardiac activity was initially overturned in a 3-2 decision in 2023. The ban was later reinstated when the General Assembly made adjustments to the law. The sole female judge who overturned the ban retired due to reaching retirement age.
The upheld ruling on the six-week ban cited the lack of clarity that prompted Planned Parenthood to file another lawsuit regarding the definitions.
Following the 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the national abortion right, Republican-led states have implemented fresh prohibitions or limitations, while Democratic-majority states have endeavored to safeguard abortion availability.
Local News Via - MyrtleBeachSC.com
