SC Senate Gives Final Approval to Fetal Heartbeat Act; 

Immediate Pro-Abortion Court Challenge Expected

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Wednesday, May 24, 2023) – Now that the South Carolina Senate gave its final approval to the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection Act (S474), an immediate court challenge is expected by the abortion industry. By a vote of 27-19, the Senate agreed Tuesday with changes the House of Representatives made last Wednesday, May 17, to strengthen the language that protects most unborn children from abortion once the heartbeat can be detected. The law now goes to Governor Henry McMaster for his signature, possibly as early as Thursday.  

Click here to send a message of thanks to your pro-life senator. If your senator did not vote in favor of the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection Act (S474), your message will not be delivered.  

The Fetal Heartbeat Act (S474) is the first pro-life law passed in South Carolina since the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in what is known as the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. The high court found there is no right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution and said it is up to the individual states to decide abortion laws.

South Carolina Citizens for Life President Lisa Van Riper expressed her thanks to the Senate for passage of the life-saving law. “With passage of this bill, South Carolina has a chance to rebuild a culture of life. I’m excited about the future of South Carolina,” she said.

Although the abortion industry is expected to challenge the Heartbeat law immediately, if it withstands the legal challenge, the law could save hundreds of unborn babies’ lives every month and stop most out-of-state abortion traffic currently flooding into South Carolina. Georgia and Florida both have enacted fetal heartbeat protection laws. North Carolina limits abortions at 12 weeks gestational age but has a 72-hour waiting period. South Carolina has a 24-hour waiting period between the time a woman schedules an abortion and the procedure can be performed.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said he anticipates that Planned Parenthood will file an immediate challenge to the Fetal Heartbeat Act as it did when the General Assembly passed a similar law in 2021. The South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the 2021 law by a 3-2 vote that concluded the 2021 heartbeat law violated the South Carolina Constitution’s right to privacy clause. Three factors have changed since that decision. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe on June 24, 2024; the make up of the South Carolina Supreme Court has changed; the new Fetal Heartbeat law (S474) was written to address the issue raised by the South Carolina Supreme Court about the 2021 law.

In an interview Wednesday with Dr. Tony Beam on his podcast Truth in Politics and Culture, Senator Massey noted that while there is no “right to privacy” in the U.S. Constitution, the South Carolina Constitution has an explicit right to privacy, but it has “absolutely nothing to do with abortion.” The amendment was added to the state constitution in the early 1970s before the lethal Roe v. Wade. The South Carolina privacy clause was intended to protect individuals from government overreach into private bank records, phone records, and other privacy issues unrelated to abortion.

Senator Massey said, “I think we’re going to have a pretty good idea in the next few weeks,” of what to expect from the South Carolina Supreme Court. He said a lower court probably will enjoin or stop the Heartbeat law from taking effect. That injunction can be appealed to the State Supreme Court. “I suspect what’s going to happen is that within the next few weeks, you’re going to get a ruling from the [State] Supreme Court on the injunction as to whether to maintain the injunction,” while the law is challenged or to allow the law to take effect. 

During the nearly five hours of contentious debate Tuesday, Senator Mike Reichenbach, R-Florence, gave his personal testimony of being born to a 14-year-old mother who placed him for adoption. He said he was speaking for the unborn and urged the Senators to vote for the life-saving law. Listen to his pro-life story here. Listen at the 4:18:12 mark. 

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