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In a choice that has been within the works for the reason that overturn of Roe v. Wade final June, South Carolina’s state senate has handed an abortion ban, Senate Invoice 474, the “,” that stands each time a fetal heartbeat is audible, which is commonly at 6 weeks after conception, .

There are usually not many exceptions to the ban, apart from instances of rape and incest, that are thought-about solely up till 12 weeks into the being pregnant – and docs performing an abortion process should report these cases to the native sheriff for authorized safety.  

Different exceptions embody fetal well being anomalies or bodily well being emergencies that may trigger hazard to the birthing particular person’s life. Psychological well being emergencies, comparable to suicidal ideation on account of a pressured being pregnant which will have been a results of trauma, are usually not included within the language of exceptions.

Pregnant individuals may not really feel secure both self-reporting or having their assault or incest reported by docs, and subsequently could select to not have an abortion. This trauma alone can lead to a psychological well being situation, or exacerbate pre-existing psychological well being points.

The invoice additionally makes use of the language of fetal personhood to mandate organic fathers to pay youngster assist from conception and to separate the fetus from the particular person carrying it in a medical emergency. That implies that docs are required to expend as a lot effort saving the lifetime of the fetus as saving the mom if an abortion is medically essential in an emergency.  In response to author Jessica Valenti, “the mandate that docs ‘separate’ a girl from her being pregnant – moderately than give her a regular abortion, implies that girls might be pressured to enter labor or have C-sections, even when doing so might be rather more bodily and emotionally onerous.”

However, as Valenti factors out, the psychological well being of the particular person carrying a being pregnant shouldn’t be a part of the equation in South Carolina.

South Carolina shouldn’t be the one southern state imposing abortion restrictions just lately.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022, 13 states, together with Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, nearly instantly carried out their set off bans on abortion, per the . However following that, many states have handed new abortion restrictions, together with North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban, going into impact on July 1, 2023. Florida additionally handed a 6-week abortion ban final month.

Abortion entry within the South is now barely doable, and folks in these states must depend on accessing and emergency contraception to keep away from unplanned pregnancies.