When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month it stated that it was time to return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives, meaning state or federal lawmakers. Surveys by news organizations indicate that about half of the states are now expected to restrict or enact laws making abortion illegal. South Carolina is among them, and later today in Columbia the legislative process to do that will begin with a public hearing by a special State House of Representatives Committee.
The Roe v. Wade decision also cleared the way for the state’s current Heartbeat Law to go into effect. It prohibits most abortions when a heartbeat is first detected usually around six weeks into a pregnancy. The law allows exceptions for when a woman’s life is in danger, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
Conservative Republican legislators are expected to push for a new law which would simply ban abortions. Others support a ban, but with exceptions similar to the current law.
