SC Supreme Court temporarily blocks six-week abortion ban
The South Carolina Supreme Court temporarily blocked the enforcement of the state's six-week abortion ban while it hears a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
“We applaud the court’s decision to protect the people of South Carolina from this cruel law that interferes with a person’s private medical decision," wrote Planned Parenthood South Atlantic President and CEO Jenny Block in a statement.
The temporary injunction allows Planned Parenthood clinics in the state to provide abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which has been illegal for more than a month.
Previous reporting: Planned Parenthood abortion ban lawsuit sent to SC Supreme Court, temporary injunction denied
For subscribers: Videos, reports detail police use of force at Greenville abortion protest
The injunction will remain in place while Planned Parenthood's lawsuit is litigated. The lawsuit alleges that the state's six-week ban violates the right to privacy granted by the South Carolina Constitution.
The lawsuit, initially filed in state trial court last month, was transferred to the state Supreme Court on July 26.
"We always knew that we would need to fight to defend the Fetal Heartbeat Act," said Brian Symmes, a spokesperson for Gov. Henry McMaster. "We successfully did so in the federal court system, and we’re confident that we will prevail in state court."
Check back for updates on this developing story.
– Tim Carlin covers county government, growth and development for The Greenville News. Follow him on Twitter @timcarlin_, and get in touch with him at TCarlin@gannett.com. You can support his work by subscribing to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC abortion law 2022: Supreme Court temporarily blocks six-week ban
