COLUMBIA, SC — Nearly two weeks after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade, South Carolina lawmakers have become the first to consider more restrictive legislation.
The state had already decided to ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. But on Thursday, its legislature, already empowered to consider even greater restrictions, offered the first glimpse of a state taking early steps toward a post- Roe America.
Many conservative states had passed tight restrictions on abortion — including outright bans — pending the Supreme Court’s decision. But now more are willing to consider bans on abortion at conception, restrictions on out-of-state abortions and closing access to the abortion pill.
At the same time, abortion rights groups are suing to stop existing state bans from being enforced and fighting to strengthen state laws that protect abortion rights. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois said he plans to call a special session to expand access to abortion.
Special legislative sessions to restrict abortions are expected in Nebraska and Indiana. In Kansas, where abortion is legal up to the 22nd week of pregnancy, voters will go to the polls next month to decide whether to amend the state constitution to say it does not include the right to abortion.
With anti-abortion Republicans firmly in control of South Carolina’s legislature and executive branch, a new proposal offering something closer to a total ban seems likely, though details have yet to be worked out. On Thursday, the study of a new abortion law began with a meeting of a 14-member committee in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. But the House bill is intentionally left vague, with just a few lines of text — including a statement that state law would be changed “so as to prohibit abortion in the State of South Carolina.”
Courtney Milbank, an Indiana attorney, urged the commission to adopt model legislation she helped draft for the National Right to Life Committee. The bill bans all abortions except to prevent the death of the pregnant woman, and calls for the prosecution of anyone who “conspires to cause, or aids or abets an illegal abortion,” including anyone who takes a minor to another country for an abortion. The legislation would not penalize women in civil or criminal court.
An abortion ban bill already in the South Carolina Senate contains similar provisions.
Some Democrats say Republican leaders may be unwilling to go beyond public opinion showing general support for abortion rights, with some restrictions.
From Opinion: The End of Roe v. Wade
Commentary by Times Opinion writers and columnists on the Supreme Court’s decision to end the constitutional right to abortion.
- David N. Hackney, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist: The end of Roe “is a tragedy for our patients, many of whom will suffer and some of whom may die.”
- Mara Gay: “Sex is fun. For puritanical tyrants who seek to control our bodies, this is a problem.
- Elizabeth Spiers: “The idea that rich women will get away with it no matter what the law says is probably comforting to some. But that’s just not true.”
- Kathryn Stewart, writer: “The breakdown of American democracy is not an unwanted side effect of Christian nationalism. That is the point of the project.”
South Dakota’s first-term governor, Kristi Noem, has twice announced plans to call a special session of the state legislature. South Dakota already has a complete ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. But a special session could allow Republican lawmakers to impose additional restrictions, such as an attempt to bar residents from traveling out of state to get an abortion.
Yet Ms. Noem, a Republican who faces re-election in November, has not called a special session.
Democrats say the governor is worried that a session to strengthen the state’s already broad ban could reveal that public opinion is divided on abortion. A representative for Ms. Noem said a special session was not “in the immediate future.”
“I think the governor realizes he’s out of step with the people of South Dakota,” said state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, a Democrat.
South Dakota voters rejected two ballot initiatives, one in 2006 and another in 2008, that would have banned abortion long before Roe v. Wade appeared vulnerable to overturning. Efforts are underway for a new ballot initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican up for re-election in November, said he welcomed the House committee’s work on a new abortion bill. But he could face a tough political decision if he is presented with a bill that does not include the rape and incest exemptions that are in the current law.
In late June, he told reporters, “I look forward to the day when we don’t have abortions in South Carolina and we don’t need exemptions.”
On Thursday at the South Carolina Statehouse, Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, criticized the current six-week ban, saying that at this point, “most people don’t even know they’re pregnant, and it’s often logistically impossible for many to secure timely safe legal abortion care.’
Ms. Black said the two Planned Parenthood clinics in South Carolina, in Columbia and Charleston, continue to offer abortions covered by the new law. (An independent clinic in Greenville also continues to provide abortion services, an official there said Thursday.)
Commission members on Thursday gave little indication of what kinds of new restrictions they might accept, giving most of the hearing to residents who wished to speak on the topic. Some quoted Scripture. Some spoke of abortion as part of a woman’s right to privacy.
Former U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, the Democratic nominee for governor, told the committee that it robs women of “the right to decide what happens to their own bodies.”
Craig Scott, an Abbeville pastor, spoke in favor of greater restrictions. He told the commission that he was diagnosed in the womb with birth defects and that doctors told his parents he would be a “vegetable” after birth. Mr. Scott noted that he is a college graduate and currently leads a church.
“All I’m asking today is that we give these kids a chance — a chance to thrive, a chance to succeed and a chance to live,” he said.
On Wednesday in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed an executive order instructing state agencies to “protect individuals or organizations who provide, assist, seek, or receive lawful reproductive health services in North Carolina.” The order acknowledges that North Carolina has begun attracting people from nearby Southern states where abortions are restricted or banned.
“Your postcode should not determine your rights,” Mr Cooper told a news conference. “But because of the outrageous Supreme Court decision, that’s the reality right now.”
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