On Wednesday, January 26, two abortion bills were advanced and are moving through to the South Carolina State House. The first bill, S. 988, otherwise known as the Equal Protection for Unborn Babies Act, was introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2022.
Bill S.988 would ban almost all abortions within the state of South Carolina, with exceptions for if an egg was fertilized outside of the womb or if the mother’s life is in danger.
According to Senator Richard Cash, one of the Bill’s sponsors, stated, “If Roe v. Wade acknowledges the authority of South Carolina to regulate abortion to the extent of this bill does, at that point this bill would go into effect. It’s a trigger law because it depends on the state’s authority of regulating abortion being acknowledged by the Supreme Court.”
So, if the US Supreme Court were to end up overturning Roe v. Wade, then the Equal Protection for Unborn Babies Act will be able to take effect.
The second Bill, S. 907, would require South Carolina doctors and physicians to tell women about an abortion reversal pill when mifepristone, a medication used to terminate an early pregnancy, is prescribed. That way, if a mother decides to change her mind on abortion, she will have been given the option and information on how to reverse the abortion medication to save the baby.
On Thursday, an appellate court heard arguments regarding a different bill, the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, due to Planned Parenthood having sued in February 2021.
Attorney Christopher Mills stated on Thursday, “They {Planned Parenthood} don’t have third-party standing because they have a unique conflict of interest in trying to deprive the women they supposedly represent of statutory rights against them.”
Arguing against Mills, Julie Murray, Planned Parenthood’s appellate advocate, said, “It is bedrock law that litigants have third-party standing to challenge a statute that directly restricts their activities. We would urge your honors… to firmly reject the argument that’s been put forward by the governor.”
It will take a few months until the court issues its ruling on the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, but South Carolina is making strides against abortion. Many across the country hope to see this continue not only within this state, but others across the nation as well.