The South Carolina Senate on Sept. 8 passed legislation to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected—at roughly around six weeks gestation—after the chamber failed to pass a near-total abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
In a special session called in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, senators voted 27–16 late on Sept. 8 on a bill HB 5399 that would effectively amend a current fetal heartbeat abortion ban, also known as the Fetal Heartbeat Protection From Abortion Act, or Senate Bill 1.
SB 1, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected—at roughly around six weeks of gestation—was signed into law by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster in February 2021 but was later temporarily suspended by the state’s Supreme Court on Aug. 17 (pdf) following a challenge by abortion providers. The court is currently reviewing whether the law violates privacy rights….