S.C. Senate Passes New Abortion Bill

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate passed an abortion ban on Thursday in the Republican-led chamber's latest quest to craft a law that passes constitutional muster, but differences with a stricter proposal from the House could derail the effort once again.

Republicans have faced several setbacks in their efforts to further restrict abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal protections this summer, allowing the conservative state's previous ban to take effect.

First, a special session spanning a dozen meetings throughout the summer and fall resulted in no new ban when neither chamber budged from their respective proposals. Then, just days before lawmakers convened this January, the state's highest court narrowly struck down a 2021 law banning abortion after cardiac activity is detected around six weeks of pregnancy. 

With Thursday's 28-12 vote, Senate Republicans insist they have found their solution in a ban on abortions after cardiac activity is detected around six weeks of pregnancy. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey emphasized that several clarifications of the bill’s language and repeals of conflicting laws will satisfy a majority on the South Carolina Supreme Court. 

The Senate measure includes exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly and the patient’s life and health up to 12 weeks. Meanwhile, a full ban from conception has again advanced to the House floor in a development that threatens to prevent another abortion restriction from becoming law in South Carolina. 

The vote indicates that Senate Republicans' position has not changed since this fall. The overall body appears uninterested in pursuing any alternative restrictions — lesser or greater. Republican Sen. Sandy Senn’s amendment to instead bar abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy failed to pass. Sen. Richard Cash, one of the Legislature’s most vocal abortion opponents, withdrew his amendment that would have matched the House proposal.

Senators moved quickly to advance the long-sought Republican priority. Republican leadership bypassed the traditional committee process to hold a vote this week on the bill. Massey said additional public input was unnecessary given the mountain of testimony over years of hearings on the issue.

Supporters said the court's January decision added urgency to prevent the state from serving as what Republican Sen. Billy Garrett called an “abortion haven.”

But in doing so, some of the five women in the chamber said the Senate failed to address key nuances in the fraught subject. Democratic Sen. Margie Bright Matthews called the effort a “knee jerk" reaction by the “heavy hand of a bunch of men.” 

Senn suggested the rush came at the proposal's own legal expense.

"There’s no way the court can make an informed decision with the scant legislative record,” Senn said Thursday, adding: “It was ramrodded through committee and it’s been ramrodded on this floor.”