SC Senate passes amended abortion ban that's headed back to the House

After a second full day of debate, the South Carolina Senate passed an amended abortion ban on Thursday that ultimately amounts to enhanced restrictions on the state's current six-week ban by a vote of 27-16.

The six-week ban has been temporarily blocked by the SC Supreme Court. 

The bill passed by the Senate also includes language attempting to prevent any future injunctions from stopping enforcement. Language was added to ensure if any part of the bill is enjoined, all other portions would still be enforced.

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The bill creates blanket exceptions for the life of the mother and for lethal fetal anomalies, but those anomalies must be confirmed by two doctors.

The bill, which originally passed the SC House last week before being amended by the Senate, also includes exceptions for rape and incest up to the end of the first trimester, down from the 20 week exception currently a part of the state's six-week abortion ban.

Under this bill, doctors would be required to report these abortions to their county's sheriffs office and transfer DNA from the aborted fetus to the sheriffs office to be kept as evidence. 

Many Republicans had originally hoped to pass some form of a total abortion ban, but it became clear Thursday afternoon that there were not enough votes to do so.

This resulted in the amended version of the bill, proposed by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, that essentially created a more strict version of the current six-week ban.

Now, the bill must return to the state House of Representatives because it was amended before being passed by the senate.

– Tim Carlin covers county government, growth and development for The Greenville News. Follow him on Twitter @timcarlin_, and get in touch with him at TCarlin@gannett.com. You can support his work by subscribing to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe.