South Carolina Senator Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, speaks during a Senate debate on whether to pass a stricter abortion law, Tuesday, May 23, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Geoffrey Collins/AP

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Geoffrey Collins/AP

South Carolina Senator Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, speaks during a Senate debate on whether to pass a stricter abortion law, Tuesday, May 23, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina.

Geoffrey Collins/AP

COLOMBIA, South Carolina – The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday approved a bill banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy – before most people know they are pregnant – and sent it to the governor, who promised to sign it.

The proposal restores the ban that was in place in South Carolina when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, a ban that was overturned by the state’s highest court after it went into effect because it violated the state’s constitutional right to privacy.

Republicans sought a response to this ruling because it allowed abortions up to 22 weeks of gestation and dramatically increased the number of abortions performed in South Carolina as stricter laws were passed in most other southern states.

South Carolina was one of the few southern states where abortion was legal.

South Carolina is one of the last bastions in the region for those seeking legal abortions, but that status is likely to end soon.

Most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy will be banned in North Carolina effective July 1 after the Republican-controlled State Legislature successfully overturned a Democratic governor’s veto last week. Abortion is banned or severely restricted in much of the South, including bans during pregnancy in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. In Georgia, this is only allowed in the first six weeks.

The South Carolina bill includes exceptions for fatal fetal anomalies, patient life and health, and rape or incest up to 12 weeks. Physicians can face felony charges that carry two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said he would quickly sign the bill.

Vicki Ringer, communications director for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said after Tuesday’s vote that her organization will file a request for a temporary restraining order once the governor signs the measure. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told reporters he was confident the law would be followed.

The Republican-led Senate was given the opportunity to pass the bill after the South Carolina House of Representatives rejected a proposal to almost completely ban abortion at conception. Senators failed to win votes for this proposal after three different attempts.

All five female senators voted against the bill.

The vote also came after three Republican women in the Senate called on other members of their party to pass a 12-week abortion ban as they fought additional restrictions a month after helping filibusters enforce a near-total ban. They joined all the Democrats who voted against the bill.

Women in the Senate, known as the “sister senators” — three Republicans, one Democrat and one independent who are the only women in the 46-member House — marched into the State House together on Tuesday, drawing applause from dozens of gathered abortion rights supporters. on the first floor. All five wore badges that read “choose more women”.

In scathing speeches, three Republican women said the 12-week period does not give women enough time to make a decision and criticized changes such as requiring child support from conception as ridiculous.

Republican Senator Katrina Shealy backed the 12-week ban as “a real compromise.”

Shealy and Republican Senator Penry Gustafson have dismissed claims that they are not true Christians due to their stance.

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

Massey laid out the new rules and definitions introduced by the Republican-dominated South Carolina House of Representatives last week during proceedings slowed down by hundreds of amendments from Democrats over the course of two days. House Republicans struck down a section of the measure allowing minors to petition the court for an abortion before 12 weeks of gestation.

Last year, abortion was a big legislative issue in the state.

Tuesday marked the fourth time the House has considered abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling against Rowe. Wade in June 2022.

The 15 Senate Democrats united against both abortion bans have pretty much allowed the Republican majority to debate the issue among themselves. Opponents argue that South Carolina’s high maternal mortality rates – with even lower results among black patients – will worsen under the new restrictions.

Currently, abortion in South Carolina remains legal for 22 weeks, although other regulations largely block access after the first trimester at three clinics in the state. But the law has remained unchanged amid Republican disagreements over how much to restrict access, which have only recently moved towards a permit.

Republican leaders noted preliminary data from the state Department of Health that shows an increase in the number of abortions in South Carolina.

The South Carolina Supreme Court struck down a similar 2021 law as a violation of the state constitution’s right to privacy in a 3-2 decision this January. But many Republicans believe that the latest version will remain in place after changes are made to both the wording of the proposal and the composition of the court.

The action comes a week after Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly passed a decision to implement a 12-week abortion ban over a Democratic governor’s veto, bringing Virginia closer to becoming the last state in the region with relatively easy access.