COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has filed to have the entire Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals appeal of a federal district court's preliminary injunction on the state's abortion bill.
The South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act (Fetal Heartbeat Act) was signed into law by McMaster on Feb. 18, 2021. In March 2021, Federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis granted a preliminary injunction against the law taking effect until the Fourth Circuit Court, or possibly the US Supreme Court, could hear the case.
In July 2021, McMaster filed his first brief with the Fourth Circuit to try and lift the injunction. In February 2022, a panel of three judges upheld the district court's decision.
The new law, touted as "a package of regulations that protect unborn life and promote maternal health," would require a doctor to perform ultrasounds to check for a heartbeat in the fetus, usually detected approximately six weeks after conception. Doctors who fail to check for a heartbeat, or performs an ultrasound but continues with an abortion procedure anyway, can face a fine of $10,000 and two years in prison on felony charges.
The doctor would also be required to "give a mother the opportunity to view an ultrasound, hear her child’s heartbeat, and receive information about her child’s development."
Unless the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals lifts the injunction, the current law will remain in effect, allowing women to get abortions up until 24 weeks of pregnancy.