South Carolina woman seeks clarity on abortion ban in lawsuit backed by Planned Parenthood [View all]

Source: Associated Press

South Carolina woman seeks clarity on abortion ban in lawsuit backed by Planned Parenthood

BY JAMES POLLARD
Updated 1:57 PM EST, February 5, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina woman who traveled elsewhere for an abortion just days after reaching six weeks of pregnancy wants a court to affirm that the state’s ban on the procedure — when a “fetal heartbeat” can be detected — should not take effect until later in a pregnancy.

In a lawsuit filed in state circuit court Monday, Taylor Shelton and Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s chief medical officer Dr. Katherine Farris argued that the Republican-led state Legislature provided two different definitions of “fetal heartbeat” in its law restricting abortions. They said the correct interpretation is that the ban begins around nine weeks, and not six weeks as currently practiced.

The complaint marks yet another attempt by abortion providers to relax the state’s so-called fetal heartbeat law. The South Carolina Supreme Court reversed course last summer when it upheld the ban after striking down a similar version. Last fall, the justices declined to take up Planned Parenthood’s request to broaden the narrow window in which a pregnancy can be legally terminated, leaving the group to start over at the lower courts.

Most GOP-led states now have laws in effect restricting access to abortion, including 14 with bans at all stages of pregnancy. Georgia also has a ban in effect once cardiac activity can be detected. Nearly every ban has been challenged in court, and judges are currently blocking enforcement of the bans in four states.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-bans-south-carolina-planned-parenthood-republicans-78f0e461e2bee4f64b60f41bea94371d