COLUMBIA, S.C. — Efforts to pass more restrictive abortion legislation in the S.C. State House is likely doomed after the state House on Tuesday rejected a proposal that would ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy but would allow a narrow exception for abortions in cases of sexual assault up to about 12 weeks.
The House voted 95-11 Tuesday to send H. 5399 to the negotiating table among six legislators — three House members and three senators — to hash out their differences. Many of the House’s more conservative members have pushed for a near-total ban on abortions in the state, saying that a six-week ban is not restrictive enough. But their Senate counterparts have indicated they are not likely to approve any ban on abortions under six weeks of pregnancy.
“I don’t believe we intended to come back to Columbia and work all summer to simply pass a law that we already have,” Rep. John McCravy, a Greenwood Republican who chairs the conservative Family Caucus and has advocated for a more restrictive ban, told his colleagues. “I certainly didn’t come back for that. I don’t think the members of the ad hoc committee came back for that, and I don’t think you came back for that.”
