Topline
The South Carolina Senate failed to pass legislation Thursday that would have banned nearly all abortions in the state, instead imposing further restrictions on the six-week ban the state previously enacted, the latest instance of state legislators rejecting full abortion bans that are unpopular with voters in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Protesters hold signs inside the South Carolina Statehouse as lawmakers debate an abortion ban on ... [+]
Key Facts
The Republican-controlled Senate failed to pass HB 5399 after a Republican senator threatened to filibuster the bill and lawmakers lacked the votes to block him, the Associated Press reports, derailing legislation that in its initial form would have banned abortion at any point during a pregnancy and made performing the procedure a felony.
Lawmakers did pass an amended version of the bill in a 27-16 vote, according to the Post and Courier, which bans abortion at six weeks—the same as the state’s existing ban, which is now blocked in court—and adds more restrictions to obtain abortions for rape and incest victims and pregnant people whose fetuses have abnormalities.
The bill preserved limited exemptions for rape and incest after the Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted on Tuesday to remove them, but some Republican lawmakers lobbied for the exceptions to be added back in.
House lawmakers passed HB 5399 on August 30 only after adding the rape and incest exemptions into the bill, after a previous version without the carveouts was rejected by the majority-Republican chamber.
The legislation will now go back to the House, which will consider whether to adopt the Senate’s changes.
Surprising Fact
In addition to restricting abortion, HB 5399 also classifies fetuses as dependents starting at six weeks into a pregnancy, meaning they can be claimed for tax deductions of $3,000 per child.
What We Don’t Know
Whether more states will pass abortion bans. Republican lawmakers have been unexpectedly hesitant to move forward with new abortion restrictions in the wake of Roe v. Wade, and efforts to pass a new ban in West Virginia have stalled after the House and Senate passed different versions of the bill and so far haven’t reconciled them. Governors in Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa have also all declined to call special sessions in the near future to consider new abortion restrictions, with Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) explaining he wouldn’t call one because there wasn’t enough support among lawmakers to pass a 12-week ban.
Key Background
South Carolina had a six-week abortion ban that went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but was then blocked in court, once again making abortion legal in the state. Lawmakers considered enacting a new ban in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision and held a public hearing on the issue in early July. There was some uncertainty over whether they would ultimately take it up, however, as the Associated Press reported some lawmakers were rethinking whether they supported voting on an abortion ban in the wake of Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejecting an anti-abortion ballot measure. The state follows Indiana, which became the first state to enact a new abortion ban after the Supreme Court’s ruling in August. That law is scheduled to take effect on September 15.
Further Reading
South Carolina House approves total abortion ban with exceptions (Associated Press)
After Roe, South Carolina Considers More Restrictions on Abortion (New York Times)
Some South Carolina Republicans pause at abortion ban brink (Associated Press)
