Late Wednesday, the South Carolina House of Representatives approved a six-week abortion ban in a strictly partisan vote. The bill is anticipated to be signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster, a Republican, next week.
This legislation is part of a broader trend seen in conservative-leaning states, as they enact stricter abortion regulations following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson in June 2022.
The bill, known as Senate Bill 474, had already cleared the state Senate in February by a vote of 28 to 21. The House version of the bill, after being amended, was passed by a margin of 82 to 32, as Democratic members introduced more than 1,000 amendments to the original legislation.
