COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on the South Carolina Heartbeat Abortion Legislation (all times local):
9:00 p.m.
South Carolina lawmakers have passed legislation out of committee that would ban almost all abortions in South Carolina if a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The House Judiciary Committee approved Tuesday the amended proposal with a vote of 15-7 after over five hours of deliberations.
Democratic lawmakers said they chose to not present the remainder of their amendments as a courtesy to their colleagues after a late evening of debate but the lawmakers said they plan to present them when legislators take up the legislation on the House floor.
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7:20 p.m.
A House committee has added an exception for rape and incest to a bill that would ban almost all abortions in South Carolina if a fetal heartbeat is detected,
The House Judiciary Committee approved Tuesday the amendment offered by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of Charleston.
The original version of the bill only provided exceptions if the woman’s life was at risk or it there is a risk of irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.
Democratic Rep. Justin Bamberg plans to offer amendments to the legislation saying he is trying to find ways to improve a bill that will inevitably pass out of committee. Opponents say the bill isn’t constitutional.
The meeting has been going on more than three hours.
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1:45 p.m.
A South Carolina House subcommittee has passed a bill that would ban almost all abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected after hearing over an hour of testimony from both supporters and detractors of the legislation.
Author of the bill Rep. John McCravy said he was encouraged by the vote.
The Greenwood Republican said he look forward to the bill’s next step - a hearing Tuesday afternoon in the full House Judiciary Committee.
Opponents of the legislation say the proposal would eliminate a woman’s ability to make her own choice about her pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat is usually detected by the sixth week of pregnancy.
They also say the bill would face an instant legal challenge if it passes as it has in other states like Mississippi and Kentucky.
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7:45 a.m.
South Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation that would ban almost all abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected which is typically around the sixth week of pregnancy.
The legislation would provide exceptions if a woman’s life is at risk.
Mississippi and Kentucky have passed similar proposals and Georgia’s governor is considering a similar ban.
Opponents of the bill say it would face an immediate legal challenge and say such proposals are another example of how women’s rights are stepped on by the government.
A House subcommittee takes testimony Tuesday morning and the bill is already on the full House Judiciary Committee agenda in the afternoon. It could be debated on the House floor later this week.
South Carolina has been in the forefront of more restrictive abortion laws over the past 35 years.
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