By the time South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster had signed a restrictive abortion bill into law Thursday, Planned Parenthood had already filed a lawsuit asking for the measure to be overturned.
After contentious debate on the bill, many Democrat legislators walked out in protest before the bill was passed in the House by a wide margin of 73-35. The senate passed the bill by a similar margin.
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The new law effectively bans all abortions after the point at which a fetal heartbeat is detected. The heartbeat in a human embryo can usually be detected by ultrasound between the 5th and 6th week of pregnancy.
Critics argue that many women do not know they are pregnant at six weeks of gestation.
Prior to signing the bill, McMaster spoke on how the Declaration of Independence enshrined in American culture and American law guarantees the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. McMaster stated that it was the duty of the government to protect the right to life.
“This day has been a long time coming,” McMaster said, “and it is monumental in consequence.”
Georgia had a similar heartbeat law in place that Gov. Brian Kemp signed in 2019. However, in 2020, a federal judge permanently banned the state from enforcing the law. In that case, U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones sided with the ACLU and ruled the law violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Supporters of the Georgia heartbeat law say the judge’s ruling puts the state on the path for a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, the same fate could befall the new law as Planned Parenthood has announced they intend to take the matter to court.
Political observers say that both Georgia and South Carolina’s pro life laws could set the stage for an eventual challenge to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in 1973.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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