COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday from abortion providers and the state regarding their legal dispute over South Carolina’s six-week abortion ban, which has been blocked since mid-August pending the state high court’s decision in the case.
The hearing, which lasted more than two hours and included frequent interjections by the five justices, pitted Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and Greenville Women’s Clinic — South Carolina’s lone abortion providers — against state officials.
At issue, primarily, is whether the six-week ban, known as the “fetal heartbeat” law because it prohibits abortion after the detection of fetal cardiac activity, which occurs by approximately six weeks of pregnancy, violates the South Carolina Constitution.
