The U.S. Supreme Court of the state of South Carolina has struck down an abortion ban effective February 2021. Abortion is prohibited after six weeks of pregnancy. But now in conservative southern states, abortions are allowed again until the fetus is 22 weeks old. The abortion organization that brought the lawsuit is calling it “a monumental victory.”
The US Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion in June last year. This is the first time a US state Supreme Court has overturned an abortion ban.
The New York Times Writing about the victory for abortion rights in the south of the country, there are fewer and fewer options for such intervention.
The Supreme Court in South Carolina ruled Thursday that a woman can make her own decision to terminate a pregnancy. That’s because of her constitutional right to privacy.
The Roe vs Wade ruling, which dates back to 1973 and established the right to abortion across the United States until last year, is also based on the right to privacy.
Since June last year, individual states have regained control over their abortion laws. Planned Parenthood, an American women’s health organization, welcomes the Supreme Court’s ruling in South Carolina. It allows women from nearby states like Alabama and Tennessee, where abortions are banned, to travel to South Carolina for abortions.
The abortion ban was introduced almost two years ago. Republican Governor Henry McMaster said, “There are a lot of happy hearts beating in South Carolina right now.”
It cannot be ruled out that the protracted legal case will continue. The Supreme Court has said that restricting the right to privacy may also alter the right to abortion.