Total abortion ban advances in South Carolina legislature

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP/WMBF) - A group of South Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a proposal to ban all abortions in the state should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the nationwide right to the procedure.

Following the subcommittee’s vote, the full Senate Medical Affairs committee is now poised to consider that measure, along with a second bill requiring doctors to tell women receiving drug-induced abortions about a controversial method to possibly halt the abortion process.

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The first proposal would define that life begins at fertilization and any doctor who performs an abortion after that point could face similar charges to murder. The bill also says birth control and other contraception methods would not be outlawed and abortions could be performed if a mother’s life is in danger or an egg was fertilized outside the womb.

If passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature, the law would take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that protected abortion rights across the country, and turn that decision over to states. About a dozen states already have similar laws.

The bill’s sponsors include Senators Lawrence Grooms, Daniel Verdin, Richard Cash and Rex Rice.