SOUTH CAROLINA
Political control: South Carolina has a Republican governor, and its General Assembly is dominated by the GOP. However, the party doesn’t quite have the two-thirds majority in either chamber needed to overcome procedural hurdles or a veto if a Democrat wins the 2022 gubernatorial election.
Background: In 2021, South Carolina passed the “Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act” that requires doctors to use an ultrasound to try to detect a fetal heartbeat if they think a pregnant woman is at least eight weeks along. If they find a heartbeat, they can only perform an abortion if the woman’s life is in danger, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The law is currently tied up in a federal lawsuit.
Effect of Supreme Court ruling: After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a federal judge allowed the state to begin enforcing the 2021 law. Planned Parenthood and others dropped their lawsuit, but the organization said it would continue to perform abortions in South Carolina under the parameters of the new law.
What’s next: The South Carolina General Assembly’s regular session ended in May, but Republican leaders had agreed they could return for a special session to take up more restrictive abortion bills if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. They have yet to announce a special session, despite Friday’s ruling. Some Republican lawmakers have opposed a complete abortion ban, especially without exceptions for victims of rape and incest.
