Today, by a 3-2 split decision, the S.C. State Supreme Court overruled the state's Heartbeat Law that was signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in February of 2021. The law prohibited abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat in the womb, or six weeks after conception.
With this ruling, the court has determined that the state's 1970 right to privacy amendment protects abortion and supersedes the fundamental right to life. In the court's majority opinion, Justice Donald Beaty wrote: “The state unquestionably has the authority to limit the right of privacy... but any such limitation must be reasonable, and it must be meaningful in that the time frames imposed must afford a woman sufficient time to determine she is pregnant and to take reasonable steps to terminate that pregnancy.”
Gov. McMaster released the following statement in response to the court's ruling: “... the Court has clearly exceeded its authority. The people have spoken through their elected representatives multiple times on this issue. I look forward to working with the General Assembly to correct this error.”
“With their decision, the Court dismissed the case as a political issue,” stated Michael F. Acquilano, director of the S.C. Catholic Conference. “Regardless of any interpretation made by a high court, we know as Catholics that life is the preeminent issue. For without life, all the rights we advocate for do not exist.”
Although this is a temporary setback, the S.C. Catholic Conference will continue advocating for the rights and protection of every born and unborn human person created and loved by God. In the words of the late Pope Benedict XVI, “God's love does not distinguish between the infant in the mother's womb or the child or the youth or the adult ... In each one God sees His image and likeness. Human life is the manifestation of God and His glory.”