US: South Carolina passes six-week abortion ban. Details here

The South Carolina Senate approved a bill on Tuesday (May 23) that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy. That's the time most women don't even know if they are pregnant. According to a report by the news agency Associated Press, the bill was sent to Governor Henry McMaster, who promised to sign it. Tuesday's proposal restores a ban South Carolina had in place when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v.Wade last year- a ban that, once it took effect, was overturned by the state’s highest court as it violated the state Constitution’s right to privacy.

The report said that Republicans have been searching for an answer to that ruling because it left abortion legal through 22 weeks of pregnancy and there was a sharp rise in the number of abortions taking place in the state.

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Are there any exceptions to the newly approved bill?

The bill approved on Tuesday includes exceptions for fatal fetal anomalies, the patient’s life and health, and rape or incest up to 12 weeks. Doctors could face felony charges carrying two years of imprisonment and a $10,000 fine, AP reported.

ALSO READ | North Carolina legislature overrides 12-week abortion ban veto, makes it law

Vicki Ringer, the director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said that after Tuesday's vote, her organisation would file a request for a temporary restraining order once Governor McMaster signs the bill.

The bill was passed after the South Carolina House backed off a proposal to ban abortion almost entirely at conception. It also came after three Republican womenurged other leaders of their party to adopt a 12-week abortion ban as they fought additional restrictions one month after helping filibuster a near-total ban.

Six-week proposal not enough time: Three Republican senate members

The "sister senators"- three Republicans, one Democrat, and an independent leader, who are the only women in the chamber, entered the State House Tuesday to rousing cheers from abortion rights supporters gathered on the main floor. The three Republicans said the six-week proposal did not give women enough time to make a decision.

They also criticised changes like requiring child support beginning at conception as ridiculous. Republican Senator Katrina Shealy endorsed a 12-week ban as a “real compromise.”

Shealy and Republican Senator Penry Gustafson pushed back on assertions that they (the three Republicans) are not true Christians because of their positions.

“We in the South Carolina Legislature are not God. We do not know what’s going on in somebody else’s life. We do not have the right to make decisions for someone else,” Shealy said.

Meanwhile, the Senate's 15 Democrats, unified against both abortion bans, largely let the Republican majority debate the issue among themselves.

Currently, abortion remains legal through 22 weeks in South Carolina, though other regulations largely block access after the first trimester at the state’s three clinics.

(With inputs from agencies)

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