COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A contentious debate over abortion rights is stirring in South Carolina, where a heartbeat abortion ban is firmly in place. Attorneys for the state and Planned Parenthood are set to present arguments at the state’s highest court on Wednesday regarding the extent of restrictions imposed by the ban. The law currently prohibits almost all abortions after around six weeks of conception, marking the onset of cardiac activity as the determining factor.
Planned Parenthood and other organizations advocating for abortion rights contend that the 2023 law provides alternative interpretations regarding the formation of a fetal heart and the initiation of a “heartbeat,” suggesting that the actual ban should be enforced around nine or ten weeks. Both sides are scheduled to present their cases at the South Carolina Supreme Court in Columbia for just over an hour, with a decision expected to be rendered in the coming months. Meanwhile, the six-week abortion ban is likely to remain in effect following a lower court’s affirmation.
The 2023 law specifies that abortions are prohibited once an ultrasound can detect “cardiac activity, or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac.” While South Carolina and several other states consider this to occur at six weeks into development, medical experts argue that heart formation typically takes place around nine weeks. The legal battle ensued after the state Supreme Court reversed its stance on a similar ban in 2021, prompting amendments by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and changes in the judiciary.
In upholding the revised ban, the state Supreme Court acknowledged the discrepancies in definitions, deferring the resolution to a future date, which has arrived on Wednesday. Additional ambiguities in the law’s language have since emerged, such as the reference to a fetal heartbeat, despite scientific classification identifying a fertilized egg as an embryo for the initial ten weeks post-conception before transitioning into a fetus.
State lawyers argue that dissecting the language overlooks the legislative intent, emphasizing the bill’s primary purpose as a six-week ban. Since the U.S. Supreme Court revoked Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading to a state-by-state approach to abortion regulations, Republican-majority states have implemented stricter bans, while Democratic-leaning states have sought to safeguard abortion access. Presently, 13 states have enacted bans on abortions without exceptions at all stages of pregnancy, whereas South Carolina and three others enforce bans around the six-week mark, often prior to women realizing their pregnancy.
The latest legal challenge was initiated by South Carolina resident Taylor Shelton, who recounted her ordeal of seeking medical assistance for IUD-related pain and discovering her pregnancy just two days after missing her usual menstrual cycle. Facing uncertainty over the definition of a heartbeat in South Carolina, Shelton sought an abortion in North Carolina, undergoing a series of appointments due to the lack of clarity on the timeline. Republicans in South Carolina have also advocated for a complete abortion ban, introducing legislation earlier this year during the General
At the close of its two-year term, the committee has not conducted any hearings.
