SC Supreme Court affirms fetal heartbeat law

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : The Palmetto Family Council released the following statement: Palmetto Family Council is pleased with today's South Carolina Supreme Court decision for its steadfast commitment to upholding the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, affirming the six-week protections for the unborn.
55% : Planned Parenthood said the words after the "or" mean the ban should only start after the major parts of the heart come together and "repetitive rhythmic contraction" begins, which is often around nine weeks.
52% : Yet, organizations like Planned Parenthood persist in using the judicial system to bypass the democratic process and impose their will.
50% : Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups argued the 2023 law includes alternative definitions about the timing of a fetal heart forming and a "heartbeat" starting and the true ban should start around nine or 10 weeks. RELATED: When does a heartbeat start?
46% : And the Supreme Court pointed out Planned Parenthood used the phrase "six-week ban" more than 300 times in previous filings as South Carolina's 2021 ban at cardiac activity was overturned in a 3-2 decision in 2023 and then reinstated months later after the General Assembly tweaked the law and the court's only woman who overturned the ban had to retire because of her age.
45% : "We could find not one instance during the entire 2023 legislative session in which anyone connected in any way to the General Assembly framed the Act as banning abortion after approximately nine weeks," Associate Justice John Few wrote in the court's opinion.
45% : SBA Pro-Life America Political Director Caitlin Connors said this in a statement: Planned Parenthood has failed in attempting to rewrite the science of human development to further their agenda for more abortions and more profit.
41% : The ruling upholding the six-week ban mentioned the imprecision which led Planned Parenthood to sue again over the definitions.
38% : The justices unanimously ruled that while the medical language in the 2023 law was vague, supporters and opponents of the law all seemed to think it banned abortions after six weeks until Planned Parenthood lost its challenge to the entire law two years ago.
38% : Jace Woodrum, Executive Director of the ACLU of South Carolina, released the following statement: The extreme ban on most abortions is endangering the lives of pregnant South Carolinians and driving medical care providers away from our state.

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