Planned Parenthood announced a federal lawsuit against the state of South Carolina to block a newly signed law banning most abortions if fetal heartbeats are detected.
The reproductive healthcare organization, which is the largest abortion provider in the United States, questioned the bill’s constitutionality, saying that the measure would overturn “the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade.” The South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, which bans abortions if providers detect a heartbeat on an ultrasound excluding cases of rape, incest, and physical danger to the mother, was signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday. The bill passed the House with a 79-35 vote on Wednesday and the Senate on Jan. 28 with a 30-13 vote.
“If South Carolina politicians truly cared about the quality of life for women and children, they would get to work to expedite the vaccine rollout, expand Medicaid, and address the dangerously high rates of maternal mortality and infant mortality in the state,” Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said in a statement, adding that the measure “pose[d] a serious threat to South Carolinians’ health and livelihood.”
“This ban blatantly defies nearly 50 years of Supreme Court precedent protecting a person’s right to end a pregnancy. Many states have passed similar bans in an attempt to send a Roe test case to the Supreme Court, but courts have blocked them all,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, later signaling Planned Parenthood’s intent to fight similar proposals nationwide in court.
SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE PASSES FETAL HEARTBEAT ABORTION BAN
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson responded to the lawsuit on Thursday with a vow to defend the law “vigorously.”
“The Attorney General’s office has already been named by plaintiffs in a legal action to block this law from taking effect,” he said in a statement. “My office will vigorously defend this law in court because there is nothing more important than protecting life.”
Republicans praised the legislation after its passage in both chambers of Congress.
“It’s encouraging to all the pro-life people who are out there, and it tells the rest of the nation that we stand for life,” Republican state Rep. John McCravy said. “We want to save as many lives as possible, and the quicker this is passed, the quicker it will go into effect.”
The bill, despite passing with support from two-thirds of the state’s lawmakers, received sharp backlash from Democrats. Nearly all members of the caucus walked out of the House chamber in protest at one point on Wednesday, and opponents of the legislation have floated lawsuits and other countermeasures to hinder its implementation before the Planned Parenthood suit.
SC House Democratic caucus now walking out of chamber in protest of abortion ban. @RepRutherford says they won’t participate in debate or vote. #scpol pic.twitter.com/WJqAMAs3LD
— Jamie Lovegrove (@jslovegrove) February 17, 2021
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The law does not criminalize those who seek illegal abortions but may tie up providers who perform the procedures with felony charges. The punishment includes a maximum term of two years behind bars and a $10,000 fine.
