On Wednesday, South Carolina’s recently constituted all-male Supreme Court changed its stance on abortion, affirming the state’s rigorous six-week ban on the procedure.
BREAKING: The South Carolina Supreme Court the only state Supreme Court that is all-male has upheld the state’s 6-week abortion ban.
The 4-1 ruling is a reversal of the court’s own holding in Jan of this year, when it struck down a near-identical law.
pic.twitter.com/wdY027W9DJ— Skyleigh Heinen (@Sky_Lee_1) August 23, 2023
Referred to as the “Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act,” this law places restrictions on the majority of abortions, allowing them as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, a time when the initial cardiac activity is observed in a fetus or embryo.
In February, South Carolina achieved the distinction of being the inaugural state to have an all-male supreme court, a result of the Republican-led legislature’s decision to replace former Justice Kaye Hearn due to her retirement. It’s worth noting that Justice Hearn had authored the majority verdict in January, invalidating the six-week ban.
Initially, the state’s Supreme Court had deemed this type of ban a violation of the state’s constitution, leading to a temporary blockage of its implementation.
“The legislature has made a policy determination that, at a certain point in the pregnancy, a woman’s interest in autonomy and privacy doesn’t outweigh the interest of the unborn child to live,” Justice John Kittredge wrote in the decision.
? BREAKING: Abortion is now banned in South Carolina after about 6 weeks of pregnancy, before most people know they're pregnant.
Our doors remain open & we'll continue to provide abortion care under the severe restrictions of this law. We'll never stop fighting. pic.twitter.com/4SMTLTuMm5
— Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (@PPSouthAtlantic) August 23, 2023
Dr. Katherine Farris, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, revealed that on Wednesday, the clinic in Columbia, South Carolina had attended to just a few of the approximately 30 patients who had appointments for abortions. The announcement of the ruling coincided with this situation. The clinic, which is among three facilities in the state, has currently halted abortion procedures while its officials endeavor to grasp the full ramifications of the court’s decision.
