COLUMBIA, S.C. — Abortion rights advocates are responding to a legal setback in their effort to challenge the state’s current abortion law.
A circuit court judge decided to uphold the 2023 fetal heartbeat law, which bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
Planned Parenthood argued the law should allow abortions up to nine weeks.
In February of this year, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and three medical doctors filed a lawsuit against the state of South Carolina.
The team filed for a preliminary injunction of the state’s six-week abortion ban, which would have blocked the law from being enforced.
But on Thursday, a circuit court judge denied that injunction request.
“And that just means that he’s not gonna block the law while the case is being considered,” Vicki Ringer with Planned Parenthood said. She said this doesn’t mean the lawsuit was dismissed.
The lawsuit is still intact which was filed to get clarification on language in the state’s six-week ban. They argue the language in the law could be interpreted to allow abortions up to nine weeks since the term ‘fetal heartbeat’ is vague.
“The law needs to be simple. It needs to be direct, and it needs to say what it means and mean what it says. And so this law is none of those things,” Ringer said.
Conservative strategist Dave Wilson said it’s unlikely this law will be changed.
“I don’t think the legislature is going to touch this issue again any time soon. They’ve made it abundantly clear this is, you have to keep in mind this is also the second round of heartbeat legislation. It was originally passed in 2021,” Wilson said.
So what’s next?
Ashley Olayinka is the founder and CEO of the non-profit The Hive Community Circle. The organization works with women and girls in South Carolina to overcome the trauma of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking. She said this is just the beginning.
"Roe vs. Wade was in place for 50 years, and so to come to this place, and so to come to this place of where we are in history, I don't believe the fight is over," Olayinka said.
Planned Parenthood awaits a decision from the circuit court judge that could clarify at what point in pregnancy the act bans abortion.
Planned Parenthood said because the injunction was denied not much will change for patients for now.
“For right now in terms of patient care there is no difference for patients. They won’t know that anything is different. There is still an extreme ban before they know they are pregnant,” Ringer said.
It's unclear when the circuit court will make its decision in the lawsuit.