Bill banning most SC abortions doomed without rape and incest exemptions, Republicans say
COLUMBIA — Senators will likely advance a bill next week outlawing abortions in South Carolina as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, but even Republicans in this conservative state don’t expect the ban to actually become law.
The measure makes an abortion illegal if an ultrasound detects a fetal heartbeat. Any abortion provider who fails to determine whether a heartbeat exists or terminates the pregnancy anyway is punishable by a $10,000 fine and up to two years in prison.
The House passed the ban 70-31, along party lines, in April. But any chance of it making it through the Senate, where a single opponent can block legislation, may have evaporated last month when a Senate subcommittee struck exceptions for women who are victims of rape or incest.
That’s the version the Senate Medical Affairs Committee will take up Tuesday. A “yes” vote in the committee of 10 Republicans and seven Democrats would send it to the Senate floor. Only two of the 17 are women.
Read more: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/bill-banning-most-sc-abortions-doomed-without-rape-and-incest/article_45192842-fc09-11e9-83f4-c3abb572a12e.html