Doctors file federal lawsuit over South Carolina’s abortion law
GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Multiple South Carolina doctors have filed a federal lawsuit over South Carolina’s abortion law.
The lawsuit names Attorney General Alan Wilson and every Solicitor in the state, among others. The lawsuit claims the state’s abortion law is too vague, puts the lives of pregnant women in danger, and leaves doctors fearful they will face criminal prosecution.
South Carolina’s abortion law, which was signed into effect in 2023, criminalizes abortions once a fetal heartbeat has been detected. Under the law, physicians who perform an abortion face also criminal consequences.
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In the law, a fetal heartbeat is defined as “cardiac activity, or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac.” Cardiac activity is usually detected around 6-9 weeks into a pregnancy. Critics of the ban point out many women are unaware they are pregnant at that time. Proponents argue the legislation is a way of protecting unborn children.
Any violation of the law is considered a felony, and violators face up to two years in prison, a fine of ten thousand dollars, and the threat of a civil suit. Doctors who perform abortions also face discipline from the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, and any other licensed healthcare professional could also have their license immediately revoked.
There are exemptions if the mother’s life is in danger, if the woman has a medical condition complicated by the pregnancy, or if there is a fatal fetal anomaly. The law also includes exceptions for women who were raped or for incest.
The lawsuit lists one example, in which doctors for a patient with kidney issues recommended she terminate her much-desired pregnancy because it was worsening her condition. One of the doctors in the suit saw the patient, but the lawsuit claims they were unable to provide an abortion because the hospital could not conclude the patient’s condition was “irreversible enough”. The patient was faced with a delay in care, which did irreversible damage to her kidneys.
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The lawsuit lists another incident, in which a woman traveling through South Carolina began to miscarry. When she showed up to the hospital, the lawsuit claims a nurse reported the patient to law enforcement, who questioned the patient as she was sitting in a pool of blood. The doctor who ended up treating the patient, who is part of the group filing the lawsuit, had to repeatedly explain to law enforcement that the patient was miscarrying.
“Withholding abortion care from very ill patients is deeply distressing to Plaintiffs in part because it defies their core medical ethics of respecting patient autonomy, refraining from harming their patients, and acting in their patients’ best interests,” the lawsuit reads.
Regarding the exceptions for rape and incest, the lawsuit takes issue with the requirement that physicians must report the abuse to “the sheriff in the county in which the abortion is performed.”
The lawsuit says most patients who are seeking an abortion for a pregnancy caused by rape and incest are unwilling to report the abuse, usually because of the complex nature of domestic violence, and because it is possible victims are still living with the ab or fear retaliation.
The lawsuit says, in one case a rape survivor was willing to report the rape to law enforcement. The lawsuit claims police insisted on coming to her home to complete the report, and that the experience was so degrading, the patient permanently left South Carolina.
“The inability to offer abortion care to most rape or incest survivors forces Plaintiffs to send their patients the messages that they do not matter, their decision to end their pregnancy is wrong, and that they are on their own,” the lawsuit reads.
“Plaintiffs’ rape or incest survivor patients may give birth against their will or endure a costly and complicated process to obtain an abortion in another state…incest survivors who are minors are especially unlikely to overcome the challenges of having to leave the state for abortion care.”
The lawsuit is asking for a federal court to rule South Carolina’s abortion law is unconstitutionally vague under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and to permanently restrict the defendants from enforcing the law.
FOX Carolina reached out to the Attorney General’s Office for a statement in response to the lawsuit. A spokesperson said their office does not comment on pending litigation, but did say the AG “will continue to vigorously defend our state laws to protect the unborn”.
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