South Carolina's governor wants a new abortion law to take effect, arguing that a judge's decision to put the whole measure — and not just the parts being challenged in court — on hold during a lawsuit “oversteps the bounds of federal judicial power.”
The law requires doctors to perform ultrasounds to check for a heartbeat in the fetus, which can typically be detected about six weeks after conception. If cardiac activity is detected, the abortion can only be performed if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or the mother’s life was in danger.blocked from going into effect
“This Court should not countenance such a judicial intrusion upon South Carolina’s legitimate sovereign interests in the form of an unnecessary nullification of state law,” attorneys for the state wrote. They argued that a section such as the requirement that an ultrasound be performed is “a standalone provision that survives any invalidation of another provision.”
“The right to life is the most precious of rights and the most fragile," McMaster said in a statement Wednesday. "We must protect life at every opportunity, regardless of cost or inconvenience.”Actions by an even higher court could also dictate outcomes in this case. The lower court judge has saidfollowing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to take a case from Mississippi — which wants to enforce an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy.