The South Carolina Supreme Court Strikes Down the State’s Fetal Heartbeat Act

By a vote of 3-2, the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state’s Fetal Heartbeat Act on Thursday. The law, which Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law in 2021, would have essentially prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is usually when a heartbeat can be detected in an unborn baby. The law took effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision last year, which returned the issue of abortion to the jurisdiction of the states.