South Carolina House passes six-week abortion ban

Why it matters

If the bill passes the Senate, it goes to the governor’s office. His approval, if granted, would dramatically reduce access to abortion for women in the state and across the region.

Most Southern states have implemented abortion bans since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last June. But because the South Carolina legislature failed to agree on the terms of a ban, the state still allows abortion up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Abortion providers say this makes the state a critical entry point for women in other Southern states, especially as North Carolina passed a law this week banning most abortions after 12 weeks.

Abortion opponents, as well as some lawmakers who support abortion rights, worry that the state has become a destination for the procedure.

Background

The bill tests a ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court in January that incorporated the right to abortion into the state constitution and overturned an earlier six-week ban.

That opinion was written by the court’s only female judge, who retired shortly afterwards. The legislature replaced her with a man supported by the conservative Freedom Caucus in the House.

Republicans hope the new court reverses the abortion decision and allows for a stricter ban. But the House and Senate, despite both being controlled by Republicans, have been unable to agree on where to draw the line.

The House is more conservative and tried to ban most abortions from conception. The Senate has considered and rejected that bill three times this year, blocked by the chamber’s five women—three Republicans, one Democrat, and one independent—who call themselves the “Sister Senators.”

The women have proposed a ban after the first trimester, or put the issue of abortion rights to voters by ballot, but the Senate leadership has rejected those measures.

What’s next

Governor Henry McMaster, a Republican who supports a six-week ban, convened the Senate for its own special session next week to discuss the House version of the bill.

The “Sister Senators” have said they will filibuster again, which could block a final vote on the bill.

While two of the Republicans in that group voted in favor of the six-week ban that the Senate approved in February, they have said they cannot support the amendments the House added to the bill.