Thursday, in a first-of-its-kind reverse, the South Carolina Supreme Court invalidated a rule prohibiting abortions beyond six weeks, dealing a major setback to abortion opponents in the conservative, southern state.
This was the first time a state supreme court invalidated such a law since the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the constitutional right to an abortion in June.
The state court ruled, “We hold that our state constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.”
In the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court utilized identical logic to uphold the right of American women to obtain an abortion for almost half a century.
In June, however, in a historic reversal, the highest court determined that the 1973 ruling was erroneous and returned to the states the authority to regulate as they saw proper.
Since then, the United States has been divided between states that have implemented limits or bans on abortion, primarily in the South and Midwest, and states that have strengthened access to abortion, primarily on the coasts.
The Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for abortion rights, told AFP, “This is the first state supreme court decision in support of abortion rights since the Supreme Court’s June ruling.”
In an ever-changing legal environment, state courts are now addressing the matter.
Several states have stopped restrictive measures on an emergency basis since June, pending higher-level judgments. The South Carolina Supreme Court issues the initial final decision.
This is a huge triumph for the battle to defend legal abortion in the South, according to Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that operates numerous abortion clinics.
“We are encouraged by today’s decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court to strike down the state’s extreme and dangerous abortion ban,” tweeted White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Women from neighboring states, including as Alabama and Tennessee, who previously lacked access to abortion can now travel to South Carolina for the operation.
However, this is not necessarily the end of the legal conflict. The South Carolina Supreme Court concluded in its ruling that the right to privacy may be “limited” if it is done in a “reasonable” manner.
This may enable state legislators to impose new limitations.
According to Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
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