South Carolina abortion bill calls for prison, other punitive actions

Sending women who get abortions to prison for decades. Outlawing IUDs. Sharply restricting in vitro fertilization.

- BY JEFFREY COLLINS

A BILL under consideration by state senators would introduce the strictest abortion ban in the nation.

(MEG KINNARD Associated Press)

These are the strictest abortion prohibitions and punishments in the nation being considered by South Carolina lawmakers, as opponents of the procedure are divided over how far to go.

The bill faces a long legislative path and uncertain prospects, even if it clears the state Senate subcommittee that’s reviewing it.

But the measure up for a second hearing Tuesday would go further than any considered since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022, as abortion remains an unsettled issue in conservative states.

The proposal would ban abortions unless the woman’s life is at risk. It eliminates exceptions for rape and incest victims for pregnancies up to 12 weeks. Current law blocks abortions after cardiac activity is detected, which is typically six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

The proposal would also go further than any other U.S. state. Women who get an abortion and anyone who helps them could face up to 30 years in prison. It appears to ban any contraception that prevents a fertilized egg from implanting. That would ban IUDs and could strictly limit in vitro fertilization.

Providing information about abortions would be illegal, leaving doctors worried they couldn't suggest legal abortion elsewhere.