Constitutional Right to Abortion in South Carolina

On January 5, 2023, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that a state law known as “The Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act” that bans abortion after six (6) weeks gestation, violates a woman’s constitutional right to privacy under the South Carolina constitution.  Justice Hearn of the court stated “We hold that the decision to terminate a pregnancy rests upon the utmost personal and private considerations imaginable, and implicates a woman's right to privacy. While this right is not absolute, and must be balanced against the State's interest in protecting unborn life, this Act, which severely limits—and in many instances completely forecloses—abortion, is an unreasonable restriction upon a woman's right to privacy and is therefore unconstitutional.” https://www.sccourts.org/opinions/HTMLFiles/SC/28127.pdf