The proposal was passed on January 28 by the state senate. It will be voted in the House on Thursday in a final process that is unlikely to change the outcome and will then be sent to the governor for signature. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster promised to sign the measure as soon as possible.
The House votes 79-35 in favor of the bill almost all members of the Democratic caucus walked out in protestt at some point.
A few Democrats were left behind when Republicans removed more than 100 proposed amendments.
After several people held a news conference to speak out against the bill Democrats returned to voice opposition to the measure, which has been mentioned several times in the legislature over the past decade.
Almost all the members of the House were later present for the vote.
‘You love the fetus in the womb. But if it is born, it is a different reaction“Said Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg, the House’s longest-serving member at 29 years old.
Numerous Republican lawmakers have spoken out in favor of the bill.
Rep. Melissa Lackey Oremus said that many women have mixed feelings when they get pregnant, especially when they are not in their life where they want to be.
‘They do not deserve to die just because their mother made a bad choicet, ”said Oremus.
The bill requires doctors to perform ultrasounds to check [preliminary signs of] a heartbeat in the fetus. If such a pulse is detected, the abortion can only be performed if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or the mother’s life is in danger.
About a dozen other states have adopted similar or more restrictive abortion bans, which could take effect if the Supreme Court with three judges appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump, Roe v.
Lawsuits will follow if the bill becomes legal.