By a vote of 3-2, the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state’s Fetal Heartbeat Act on Thursday. The law, which Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law in 2021, would have essentially prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is usually when a heartbeat can be detected in an unborn baby. The law took effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last year, which returned the issue of abortion to the jurisdiction of the states.
According to Fox News, Justice Kaye Hearn wrote:
We hold that the decision to terminate a pregnancy rests upon the utmost personal and private considerations imaginable, and implicates a woman’s right to privacy. While this right is not absolute and must be balanced against the State’s interest in protecting unborn life, this Act, which severely limits – and in many instances completely forecloses – abortion, is an unreasonable restriction upon a woman’s right to privacy, and is therefore unconstitutional. Read more…