The South Carolina Supreme Court blocked the state’s six-week abortion ban on Wednesday.
The court’s ruling grants providers an emergency motion for a temporary injunction, meaning the ban, which has been in effect since June 27, is paused while the debate over the ban’s constitutionality continues.
Many organizations fighting for reproductive rights released statements in support of the court’s decision as soon as the ruling took effect.
SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE COMMITTEE ADVANCES NEAR-TOTAL ABORTION BAN BILL
Jenny Black, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said in a statement that she applauds the court’s decision, which offers relief to patients forced to travel for abortions.
Genevieve Scott, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, echoed Black in a statement, saying those who need reproductive care in South Carolina have been granted a temporary reprieve.
“Many have been panicking for far too long as they try to figure out where they can turn to for services, if at all,” Scott said.
She added that the “unjust” ban is dangerous and can jeopardize people’s health and well-being.
Both women said their organizations would continue to fight for “patients’ right to make their own decisions about their bodies and futures.”
Prior to June 27, the six-week ban had been blocked since 2021, when Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act. Once Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, the Supreme Court no longer had reasoning to block the bill, the Washington Examiner previously reported.
On July 13, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, along with three other organizations and physician plaintiffs, filed a challenge in a state court asking the court to block the ban for violating constitutional rights. Shortly after, the state filed a petition for the Supreme Court to declare the six-week ban constitutional.
The state court ruled it would try to transfer the case to the Supreme Court on July 26, prompting Planned Parenthood to file an emergency motion.
The state Supreme Court’s decision comes a day after the state’s House Judiciary Committee passed a bill out of the ad-hoc subcommittee on Tuesday that would impose a near-total ban on abortions in South Carolina, with exceptions only if the mother’s life or bodily health is at risk.
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The committee bill, if signed into law, would remove exceptions for instances of rape and incest, which were included in the original six-week ban. It will now move to the House floor for consideration, where it is expected to pass.
