Add South Carolina to the list of states now protecting babies from abortion. Today, a federal judge allowed the state’s heartbeat law, which protects babies from abortion when their heartbeats can be detected after six weeks, to take effect following the landmark Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
As LifeNews reported, Attorney General Alan Wilson announced moments after Dobbs’ decision that he has filed a motion with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to lift his ban on the fetal heartbeat and protections against abortion, passed last year. PGovernor Henry McMaster. ro-life was signed into law.
Today, Judge Mary Geiger Lewis withheld an injunction blocking state law and allowing pro-life law to save babies from abortions.
“The Heartbeat Act is now in effect. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the decision to legally protect the lives of unborn babies was returned to the states, so there was no longer a basis for blocking South Carolina’s Heartbeat Law,” Wilson said in a statement. A statement. “Our state is now carrying out the most sacred and fundamental task of a government, which is to protect life.”
On Twitter, Governor Henry McMaster applauded the decision.
“We spent nearly a year and a half defending the Fetal Heartbeat Act in court. It has finally come into effect in South Carolina. This is why Friday’s Supreme Court ruling is so important: Countless unborn children will be saved thanks to this law,” he said.
Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said the “battle is far from over” and appeared to point to a possible state lawsuit to try to overturn the pro-life law.
“The doors of Planned PareAtlantic are open in Charleston indoors d Columbia. We provide abortion care in full compliance with Senate Bill 1 and encourage anyone seeking an abortion to contact our office,” Black said. “Following last week’s damaging Supreme Court ruling quashing Roe v. Wade, it is clear that the best way to protect access to abortion in South Carolina after approximately six weeks of pregnancy is not through our existing federal lawsuit.”
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As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, holding a 6-3 majority decision in the Dobbs case that “the Constitution does not grant the right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The Supreme Court also ruled 6-3 to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, allowing states to restrict abortions further and remove the false viability standard.
Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the verdict but, in his opinion, disagreed with the reasoning, saying he wanted to keep abortion legal but with a new standard.
Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was destroyed and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions, and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state to protect babies from abortion, Kentucky became 4th, Louisiana became 5th, Ohio became 6th, Utah became 7th, Oklahoma became 8th, and Alabama became 9th. Today Mississippi became 10th.
Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or expeditiously ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The 13 states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
“Abortion poses a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of any state from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey have usurped that authority. We now reject those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
“Roe was wrong from the start. The reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have fueled debate and deepened divisions.”
This is a milestone for the Pro-Life movement and our entire nation. After nearly 50 years of staining the moral fabric of our country, Roe v. Wade is no more.
Judges Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer wrote a joint dissent condemning the decision to allow states to impose “draconian” restrictions on women.
Polls show that Americans support abortion.
