Columbia, South Carolina — Sending women who have abortions to prison for decades. Blocking the IUD. Severe restriction of in vitro fertilization. This is it The strictest prohibitions on abortion The nation’s sanctions are under consideration by lawmakers in South Carolina, even as opponents of the measure are divided over how far it should go.
The bill faces a long legislative path and uncertain prospects, even if it wins approval from the state Senate subcommittee reviewing it.
But the measure expected for a second hearing on Tuesday would go further than any considered since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, as miscarriage It remains an unresolved issue in conservative countries.
the an offer It would ban all abortions unless the woman’s life is at risk, and remove exceptions for victims of rape and incest for up to 12 weeks. Current law prohibits abortions after cardiac activity is detected, which typically occurs after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
The proposal would also go further Any other US state. Women who have abortions and anyone who helps them could face up to 30 years in prison. It appears to prohibit any contraceptive method that prevents a fertilized egg from implanting. This would prohibit IUDs and could severely limit in vitro fertilization.
Providing information about abortions would be illegal, leaving doctors worried they wouldn’t be able to suggest it Legal abortion elsewhere.
Natalie Gregory, an obstetrician-gynecologist, said passing a bill like this would spark so many debates in her practice — from contraception to pregnancy loss to in vitro fertilization options — a “legal minefield” that could put her at risk for decades in prison.
“It constitutes unconstitutional access that threatens the fabric of health care in our state,” she said during an eight-hour public hearing on the bill last month, adding that the proposal is a waste of public time and money.
The proposal has even divided groups that oppose abortion and once celebrated together when South Carolina passed a six-week ban in 2021, which Trigger law It is set to take effect if Roe v. Wade.
Citizens for Life of South Carolina, one of the state’s largest and longest-standing abortion opponents, issued a statement on the day of the hearing last month saying it could not support the bill because women who have abortions are also victims and should not be punished.
On the other side, at least for this bill, there are groups like Equal Protection of South Carolina. “Abortion is murder and should be treated as such,” said Mark Corral, the group’s founder.
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California at Davis who has written extensively on abortion, said the divide stems from long-standing messaging that labeled abortion murder while avoiding punishing women.
Ziegler refers to groups calling for more punishments and restrictions as “abolitionists,” and said their success in reshaping laws in conservative states, as well as changing the broader political climate, has emboldened them to push ideas that do not appear to have broad popular support. They also have enough influence to make lawmakers listen.
“It’s not going away,” Ziegler said. “The trajectory continues to shift, and abolitionists have more influence.”
As the country’s social and political debates shift to the right, with debates over whether same-sex marriage should be made illegal again or whether women should work outside the home, Ziegler said it has become easier to push for restrictions that may not have been brought before legislatures before.
“There is more breathing room now for abolitionists,” she said.
A similar bill in the House last year got a public hearing but went no further. During the subcommittee meeting, House Republican leaders issued a statement saying they were satisfied with the current state law and that this bill had gone nowhere.
But things are less stable in the Senate, where nine of the 34 Republicans in the 46-member chamber were elected after the current law was passed. Three of them unseated the only Republican women in the Senate, a trio who called themselves the “Senate Sisters” after helping to block a stricter ban on abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Republican Sen. Richard Cash, who is sponsoring the bill and is one of the Senate’s strongest voices against abortion, will take over the subcommittee on Tuesday. Last month he acknowledged problems with potentially banning contraception and restricting the advice doctors can give patients. But he did not indicate what changes he or the rest of the subcommittee might support. Six of the nine members are Republicans.
GOP Senate leaders said there is no guarantee if the bill passes the subcommittee that it will go further.
“I can say this once and for all — not only has no decision been made to introduce this bill, there has been no discussion about introducing this bill,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massie said.