South Carolina Senate was unable to enact a nearly complete abortion ban

• The South Carolina Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, was unable to pass a bill The South
• Carolina Supreme Court has ordered that ban, which went into place soon after Roe v. Wade was reversed, not be carried out.
• The state’s 2016 statute that outlaws abortions 20 weeks after conception is still in place while a state court continues to review it.

The South Carolina Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, was unable to pass a bill on Thursday that sought to outlaw almost all abortions at all stages of pregnancy without making exceptions for rape or incest; instead, the state’s already stringent abortion law was amended. A few Republicans joined with Democrats to oppose the bill.

The near-total abortion ban’s defeat highlighted the gulf between South Carolina Republicans and Republicans in general about whether or not abortion restrictions should grant exceptions for rape- or incest-related pregnancies.

Republican state senator Tom Davis’ filibuster on Thursday effectively put an end to South Carolina House bill 5399, which passed the state House last month and would have outlawed almost all abortions in the state. Republicans lacked the necessary number of votes to break a filibuster and move the bill’s vote forward, which needs a larger number of votes.

On the Senate floor on Thursday night, Davis declared, “I’m not going to let this (law) come to a vote unless this body votes and sits me down.”

Republicans attempted to approve the restricted law, but were unable to do so. Instead, they took up an amendment that removed wording from the bill and added language to revise the state’s current six-week abortion prohibition. The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered that ban, which went into place soon after Roe v. Wade was reversed, not be carried out. The state’s 2016 statute that outlaws abortions 20 weeks after conception is still in place while a state court continues to review it.

Republican state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey acknowledged this when he first proposed the amendment, saying “the votes are not there in the Senate right now to have an abortion prohibition earlier than six weeks.”

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