South Carolina Supreme Court upholds pro-life law’s six-week threshold

The state’s high court unanimously ruled that a 2023 state law will continue to protect unborn children from abortions after six weeks post-conception. The law says abortions can only be performed before a baby’s heartbeat can be detected via ultrasound. It defines a heartbeat as cardiac activity or a steady, rhythmic contraction of the heart.

Planned Parenthood, which brought the suit against the state, argued that rhythmic contraction doesn’t begin until about nine weeks, so the law should allow abortions until that point.

What did the court say? Associate Justice John Few wrote in the court’s opinion that the law’s language was vague, but both supporters and opponents of the law interpreted it as setting a six-week threshold. No lawmakers brought up any other intent during the 2023 legislative session—and Planned Parenthood itself had referred exclusively to a six-week threshold in court filings until recently, Few said.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on Missouri’s proposed repeal of a pro-abortion amendment.