COLUMBIA, S.C. (OSV News) — The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state’s six-week abortion ban in an Aug. 23 ruling, permitting that law to go into effect. The 4-1 ruling lifts a previous freeze on the law implemented amid a legal challenge shortly after Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed the legislation in May.
In an opinion for the majority, Justice John Kittredge wrote that the Legislature “has found that the State has a compelling interest in protecting the lives of unborn children,” and that it would be “a rogue imposition of will by the judiciary for us to say that the legislature’s determination is unreasonable as a matter of law.”
The ruling finding the 2023 law constitutional comes just months after the same court found a similar law unconstitutional in a January ruling. However, justices noted the Legislature had responded to their concerns in enacting the most recent law.
McMaster said in a statement that the ruling “marks a historic moment in our state’s history and is the culmination of years of hard work and determination by so many in our state to ensure that the sanctity of life is protected.” He added, “With this victory, we protect the lives of countless unborn children.”
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