Today the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state’s six week abortion ban. The Court ruled in favor of the Plaintiff in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. South Carolina.
The Court’s decision reads in part, “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.”
At ACLU of South Carolina, we believe this ruling was the right one. We congratulate our friends at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic for this victory, and we are celebrating this news right alongside the many organizations leading the fight for reproductive justice in South Carolina.
So, what does this ruling mean?
It means that abortions remain legal in South Carolina until 20 weeks.
It means that today we celebrate, and tomorrow we get back to work. The fight to protect access to abortion is not over, and it’s going to take all of us working together to protect and expand abortion access.
What’s next?
Those who oppose access to abortion will take this fight back to the legislature. We will be ready, and we want to help you get ready, too.
We are hosting three in-person events this month that will help you make sense of the bills moving through the Statehouse and get the tools you need to advocate for your civil liberties. Learn more and RSVP for a Legislative Look Ahead later this month in Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville. We won’t stop fighting alongside the organizations leading the reproductive justice movement in South Carolina, and we hope you will keep fighting, too.
