South Carolina became the 17th state to prohibit abortions midway through pregnancy, as Gov. Nikki Haley signed the new law into effect Wednesday.
The measure, known as a “pain-capable law,” bans women from getting an abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy, unless continuing the pregnancy would threaten her life or the fetus has been diagnosed with a fatal anomoly. Doctors who breach the new rules would face jail time.
Like similar abortion bans passed by other conservative-majority states, the measure is based on the idea that a fetus can feel pain about halfway through pregnancy. Anti-abortion activists cheered the Republican Haley for signing South Carolina’s 20-week ban into law.
“Most Americans — women in higher numbers than men — want to end brutal late-term abortions in this country. Indeed, this is the latest victory amid a recent flurry of state-level pro-life activity being led by women lawmakers,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.
The House has passed a similar ban, but Republicans in the Senate were unable to gather enough votes to pass the legislation and send it to President Obama, who opposes such measures.
The South Carolina measure doesn’t include any exemptions for rape or incest, even though those are typically accepted by anti-abortion advocates and Republicans and were contained in the federal version.
