South Carolina Senate Advances Ban on Later Abortions

COLUMBIA, S.C. –The South Carolina Senate has advanced a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks. The bill previously passed the House, and now returns to that chamber to approve Senate amendments before heading to the governor’s desk.

“Politicians are not medical experts, and they shouldn’t be interfering with a woman’s personal, medical decisions,” said Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. “Even if we disagree about abortion, we can all agree that a woman should be able to make these decisions with those she trusts, like her family and her doctor. That doesn’t include politicians.”

In 2014, a Public Policy poll found that the majority of South Carolinians polled do not support the ban and agreed that legislators’ obsession with restricting women’s health care was the wrong priority.