South Carolina Senate Fails to Approve of Near-Total Abortion Ban

The South Carolina Senate this week failed to approve a near-total abortion ban passed by the state’s House last month.

The South Carolina House last month passed a bill that would have banned abortion from the time of conception, with exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Per the measure, the narrow exception period lasts up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, but the woman must inform her doctor that she was raped. The doctor is then expected to report the rape to law enforcement.

However, this measure failed to hold up in the state’s Senate, as lawmakers offered instead a six-week abortion ban — similar to what is already in place but under legal challenge. The Senate’s version of the bill bans abortion at six weeks instead of the moment of conception, but it does remain relatively consistent in allowing abortion up to 12 weeks into pregnancy in cases of rape or incest.

It adds that termination of a pregnancy will also be permitted if the baby has a “fatal anomaly or when the life of the mother is at risk,” per the Washington Post. That version passed 27-16.

Republican state Sen. Tom Davis is among five Republicans who stopped the House version of the bill, contending that the House’s version failed to offer an “equitable balancing of competing rights.” He apparently made that determination after speaking to his teenage daughters.

Republican state Sen. Sandy Senn appeared to co-opt the language of the radical left, stating that “we ladies are about to suffer a setback at the hands of a lot of white males in here, but we’re going to live to fight another day.” She did not support the original six-week abortion ban embraced by the state’s legislature, either.

Notably, the state’s existing six-week abortion ban has been temporarily halted by the state’s Supreme Court, pending legal challenges.

However, some states are finding success in a post-Roe world, as Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed a bill banning abortion with very limited exceptions, including rape, incest, or preserving the life of the mother.

The battle remains on that front, as it is facing lawsuits ahead of going into effect next week, one of which contends that the law violates the state’s 2015 religious-freedom law.