The Supreme Court of South Carolina just took serious action in defense of life, upholding a revised version of South Carolina’s six-week abortion ban. The law, which bans abortions after just six weeks, had previously been found unconstitutional, but his new opinion means the adjusted version is enforceable.
The decision was 4-1, with the court ruling that the state’s constitutional protection against any “unreasonable invasions of privacy” does not, under its aegis, protect abortion access. The court so was able to rule that the updated abortion law is “within the zone of reasonable policy decisions rationally related to the State’s interest in protecting the unborn.”
Continuing, the decision’s author, Justice John Kittredge, ruled, “The legislature has made a policy determination that, at a certain point in the pregnancy, a woman’s interest in autonomy and privacy doesn’t outweigh the interest of the unborn child to live.”
Justice Kittredge also noted that the non-arbitrary nature of the ban was important in upholding it, ruling, “It is apparent the South Carolina General Assembly carefully crafted the 2023 Act in an effort to demonstrate that its policy decision was not arbitrary. In particular, the legislature made a number of findings in support of its policy judgment. For example, the legislature explained the 2023 Act “took into consideration the interests of the pregnant woman and balanced them against the legitimate interest of the State to protect the life of the unborn,” the latter interest of which the legislature characterized as “compelling.” Citing its reliance on a number of experts in the field for a “scientific understanding of the development of the unborn early in pregnancy,” the legislature concluded that “there is nothing arbitrary about banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected with certain limited exceptions.” Specifically, the legislature explained it had placed weight on the fact that a woman could learn of her pregnancy within seven to fourteen days of conception and would have several weeks after that to make her decision and have an abortion if she so chose.”
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, a Republican, released a statement on the matter in which he said, “With this victory, we protect the lives of countless unborn children and reaffirm South Carolina’s place as one of the most pro-life states in America.”
My statement on the S.C. Supreme Court’s ruling that will protect the lives of countless unborn children: pic.twitter.com/4gM9SEuVlb
— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) August 23, 2023
The now-upheld South Carolina law is relatively strict. It prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected. The only exceptions to that strict ban are for rape or incest during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, medical emergencies, or fatal fetal anomalies. Under the law, those abortion providers who ignore the law and provide abortions in violation of it face a $10,000 fine and two years in prison.
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Predictably, Planned Parenthood, a plaintiff in the case, freaked out. Jenny Black, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said, “This abortion ban is nearly identical to the ban struck down by this court just months ago — the only thing that has changed is the makeup of the court. This abortion ban takes away people’s ability to control what happens to their bodies, forcing many South Carolinians to remain pregnant against their will.”