Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, speaks against an abortion bill at a news conference in the Statehouse on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021 in Columbia, S.C. Democrats walked out during the debate. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Abortion-South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House has passed a bill banning almost all abortions in the state.
The “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act” went through on a vote of 79-35 Wednesday. The vote followed a lengthy session featuring debate both for and against it.
Nearly all the Democratic members of the caucus walked out of the chamber at one point in protest.
The bill faces a final procedural vote Thursday that likely won’t change the outcome and then goes to the governor’s desk.
Republican Governor Henry McMaster has promised numerous times to sign it into law as soon as he gets it. The law is unlikely to go into effect, however; groups opposing the ban are expected to sue immediately.
