With larger GOP majorities, SC lawmakers to push fetal heartbeat abortion ban again
After failing to cross the finish line last year with a “fetal heartbeat” abortion bill, South Carolina Republicans plan to make another push in 2021.
Palmetto State Republicans have filed two bills in the Senate and one bill in the House that would ban most abortions once a fetal heart beat can be detected by an ultrasound at around the six week mark.
Critics say the bill would outlaw nearly all abortions, noting that some women may not realize they’re pregnant at six weeks.
All three bills do allow exceptions in the cases of medical emergencies, but not in the case of rape or incest. A fetal heartbeat bill considered during last session initially included rape and incest exceptions, but those were stripped out when the bill went to the Senate.
During the last two year session, Republican’s fetal heartbeat bill neared passage, making it through the House in April 2019 with a vote of 64 in favor and 22 against. The bill also made it through the Senate’s Medical Affairs committee, but failed to make it to the floor thanks to a busy Senate schedule, a multi-week Democratic-lead debate on education and a pandemic cutting the session short.
The bill was opposed by groups like Planned Parenthood, who called it “extreme” and “deeply disappointing.”But the effort was applauded by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, who pressured lawmakers time and time again to pass the bill and send it to his desk.
Senators also faced the possibility of a Democratic filibuster last year, and were two votes short of being able to end one. In November, though, Democrats lost three Senate seats during the election, making their position more vulnerable than in recent years.
If the bill were to pass during the upcoming two-year session, it would almost certainly face a court challenge. After several states passed similar legislation in 2019, they faced immediate challenges in court, keeping the legislation from going into effect.
In addition to bills that would institute a ban on most abortions after six weeks, one senator introduced a so-called personhood bill that would grant embryos and fetuses the same rights as people starting at the moment of fertilization. Similar bills were introduced in both the House and the Senate last year and never made it out of committee.
A fourth Senate bill released this week would prohibit the sale, purchase or donation of fetal tissue from abortions, as well as banning the experimentation on that tissue.
When this bill was introduced during the last session, Democrats argued they had seen no evidence that issue exists. During a committee meeting last year, S.C. Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, claimed that the University of South Carolina purchased remains from an abortion years ago, but university officials said they do not conduct research using human fetal tissue and have no evidence that they ever had.
The bill ultimately never made it out of committee.
