COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bill to ban nearly all abortions in South Carolina without exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest is heading to a debate on the Senate floor.
The Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted 9-8 Thursday to send the bill to the full Senate.
It would ban abortions when a heartbeat can be detected - or about six weeks after conception. Measures seeking stricter abortion limits have been debated for years in the General Assembly, regularly failing in the Senate on a procedural hurdle.
But abortion foes say they are confident this year will be different after Republicans flipped three Senate seats for a 30-16 advantage.