COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Supreme Court of South Carolina has announced it will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the latest abortion law passed by the State Legislature last month.
The court said oral arguments will be held at 9:30 a.m. June 27 at their main building on Gervais Street.
McMaster signed the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion (2023) Act, banning abortions after roughly six weeks, on May 24. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the Greenville Women's Clinic, and two doctors then sued the State of South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster, Attorney General Alan Wilson, and others over the new law.
On May 26, Circuit Court Judge Judge Clifton Newman granted a request by the plaintiffs to temporarily stop enforcement of the new law until it could be heard by justices.
The South Carolina measure joins stiff limitations pending in North Carolina and Florida, states that had been holdouts in the South providing wider access to the procedure, threatening to further delay abortions as appointments pile up in the region.
The state has seen the number of abortions climb sharply as other Southern states passed near-total bans. Before the overturn of Roe, less than 1 in 10 abortions in South Carolina were performed on people who lived out of state. Now, that figure is near 50% and the number of abortions each month has at least tripled, according to state health data.
The law passed by the General Assembly is similar to a ban on abortion once cardiac activity can be detected that lawmakers passed in 2021. The state Supreme Court decided in a 3-2 ruling that the 2021 law violated the state constitution's right to privacy.
Legislative leaders said the new law makes technical tweaks that should sway at least one justice to change his mind.
Attorney General Alan Wilson issued a statement saying, "We’re pleased the Court granted our motion with such urgency. We look forward to making our arguments in court and defending the rule of law and right to life."