Staff reports | As state senators met in a Columbia committee room to talk about almost completely banning abortion, the S.C. Supreme Court unanimously issued an order Wednesday to block the state’s recently triggered ban temporarily on abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. That law generally has ruled out abortions after six weeks.
“We applaud the court’s decision to protect the people of South Carolina from this cruel law that interferes with a person’s private medical decision,” said Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “For more than six weeks, patients have been forced to travel hundreds of miles for an abortion or suffer the life-altering consequences of forced pregnancy. Today the court has granted our patients a welcome reprieve, but the fight to restore bodily autonomy to the people of South Carolina is far from over.”
Clearly, the raw politics of abortion continue to roil the legislative and judicial landscape in South Carolina.
In the injunction, the state’s five justices granted an emergency motion by abortion providers to suspend the state’s current abortion law, which was triggered in June after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal protection offered by the landmark Roe v. Wade case. The order essentially returned South Carolina to the status quo on abortion in the state before the federal June ruling that turned the matter over to the states. And now at issue is whether state law enshrouds privacy protection that extends to abortion.
“We merely maintain the status quo by adhering to that part of our state’s policy set forth” in 1974, the court wrote, noting that state legislators didn’t get rid of previously-passed abortion protections when they passed the fetal heartbeat ban. And that, they wrote, “arguably creates a conflict in the law.”
Andrews blasts Senate committee
The S.C. Supreme Court’s order came while the S.C. Senate Medical Affairs Committee heard public testimony in Columbia on S. 1373, a proposed bill seeking an almost total abortion ban that would make it a crime for anyone to provide an abortion outside of a medical emergency. The Senate bill would also restrict the ability to share information on abortion, which has drawn broad criticism by the press on free speech grounds.
Dr. Annie Andrews, a Mount Pleasant Democrat running for Congress in the First Congressional District, reminded senators she’s testified before to refute conservative talking points on Covid-19, gun violence and abortion.
“I am here again, today, to tell you that this bill is not consistent with established science and this bill will kill women and turn doctors into criminals,” she said in prepared testimony. “But will you listen to me? Unlikely. Time after time you deny science, you turn away expertise, all so that you can score political points and win your primaries.
“You consistently put political science over actual science. You should be ashamed.”
In other headlines:
Graham appeals court order to testify in Georgia probe. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has formally appealed a court order to testify in front of a special grand jury investigating whether former President Donald Trump and allies tried to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Expectations of the appeal came after a judge ordered Graham to appear to testify on Aug. 23.
Labor Party candidates kicked off S.C. ballot. A judge has kicked off Labor Party candidates in the 2022 South Carolina elections for governor and a seat in the U.S. House. The judge cites that the party missed the deadline and did not host their nominating convention in time.
S.C. attorney general threatens FOIA suit to Charleston schools. S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson is threatening the Charleston School district board with prosecution over alleged violations of the Freedom of Information Act.
Scott details second chances in book. In its NPR Book of the Day segment, the station has an interview with U.S. Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on his current bestselling memoir.
Police regulatory measure signed into law. S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday signed into law the Law Enforcement Accreditation Bill. The new law requires non-certified officers to work alongside certified officers when on duty, forbidding them from performing law enforcement duties alone until they are fully trained. It also expands the definition of police misconduct, which now includes officers failing to intervene when they see another officer abusing members of the public and willfully failing to report another officer’s misconduct.
International African American Museum to open in early 2023. Nine core galleries, a special exhibit space and a genealogy center in the International African American Museum (IAAM) are taking shape to present a sweeping story of the Africans’ forced migration to America. The long-planned $100 million museum is expected to open early next year.
Hilton Head woman slips, killed by alligator. A Hilton Head woman reportedly slipped into a pond while gardening and was killed by an alligator, authorities said. The accident happened Monday morning. What to do if you see an alligator.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!