South Carolina Supreme Court Affirms 6-Week Abortion Restriction
South Carolina’s all-male Supreme Court has upheld a law banning most abortions except in the earliest weeks of pregnancy. The ruling, which departs from the court’s previous decision, comes after the state’s Republican lawmakers replaced the only woman on the court, Justice Kaye Hearn. The 4-1 ruling takes effect immediately and restricts most abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, which lawmakers defined as “the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac.” The dissenting opinion argued that the law is medically and scientifically inaccurate. The decision comes amid a wave of abortion restrictions in GOP-controlled states.
