COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s new all-male Supreme Court reversed course on abortion on Wednesday, upholding a ban on most such procedures after about six weeks of pregnancy.
The 4-1 ruling departs from the court’s own decision earlier this year to strike down a similar law. Chief Justice Beatty was the dissenting vote.
The continued erosion of legal abortion access across the U.S. South comes after Republican state lawmakers replaced the lone female on the court, Justice Kaye Hearn.
Writing for the new majority, Justice John Kittredge acknowledged that the 2023 law infringes on “a woman’s right of privacy and bodily autonomy,” but said the state legislature reasonably determined this time around that those interests don't outweigh “the interest of the unborn child to live.”
“As a Court, unless we can say that the balance struck by the legislature was unreasonable as a matter of law, we must uphold the Act,” Kittredge wrote.
It was Hearn who wrote the majority’s lead opinion in January striking down the ban. The court ruled then that the law violated the state constitution’s right to privacy.
Hearn then reached the court’s mandatory retirement age, enabling the Republican-dominated legislature to put Gary Hill on what is now the nation’s only state Supreme Court with an entirely male bench.
In his dissent, Beatty wrote: "Turning to the issues discussed by the majority, I cannot help but observe at the start that it has taken the extraordinary step of disregarding this Court's precedent as it struggles to justify its legally inconsistent result. This not only weakens the stability and reliance value of the law in this state, but ultimately undermines judicial independence and the integrity of the Court as an institution. "
The complete opinion can be read here:
In reaction to the Court's opinion, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster released a statement saying, "The Supreme Court's ruling marks a historic moment in our state's history and is the culmination of years of hard work and determination by so many in our state to ensure that the sanctity of life is protected," said Governor Henry McMaster. "With this victory, we protect the lives of countless unborn children and reaffirm South Carolina's place as one of the most pro-life states in America."