Out-of-state travelers driving up SC abortion cases as neighboring states pass bans

Abortion cases are on the rise in South Carolina due in large part to out-of-state travelers as legislatures across the Southeast pass more restrictive bans.

Starting in September 2022 — a month after the state’s six-week ban was blocked — out-of-state visitors began to make up nearly half of South Carolina’s total monthly abortion cases, according to provisional data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

In 2021, South Carolina reported 6,279 abortions. In 2022, that figure increased to 7,277.

South Carolina has one of the least restrictive abortion laws in the Southeast after the state Supreme Court in January struck down the state’s six-week abortion law, leaving a previous ban at about 20 weeks in place.

This week, the Senate will debate a near-total abortion ban passed by the House earlier this year, despite Senate leaders having said repeatedly the upper chamber lacks the votes necessary to pass a ban at conception. Before the debate, four Senate Republicans — Tom Davis, Katrina Shealy, Sandy Senn and Penry Gustafson — criticized lobbying efforts by one anti-abortion group.

“Take this as a good example of what not to do in the future if you want to get my vote,” Shealy said, holding a model spine given to the senators. “Don’t send me a spine. I have one.”

Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 Dobbs decision, which struck down decades-old protections for abortions and left those decisions to the states, out-of-state visitors made up between 4% to 6% of South Carolina’s abortion cases every month.

In the latter months of 2022, after the S.C. Supreme Court in August temporarily blocked the state’s six-week ban, those figures rose to between 40% to 48% every month.

In January the state Supreme Court ruled the state’s abortion ban unconstitutional.

From January to March, DHEC data showed that 47% of the 2,900 South Carolina abortions were for out-of-state visitors.

“We have become a destination point for abortions,” said House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens.

In the Southeast, Georgia bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and Tennessee has a complete ban. Florida recently enacted a six-week ban, and Mississippi and Alabama ban abortions from conception, with exceptions.

North Carolina bans the procedure after 20 weeks and six days.

Voters in other states have pushed back against abortion bans.

In Wisconsin, voters elected a state supreme court judge, who ran on reproductive rights. In 2022, voters in Kansas and Kentucky voted to keep abortion legal after they rejected proposed constitutional amendment.

The latest polling in South Carolina found 86% said in a November 2022 Winthrop University Poll that abortions should be legal if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life. The same poll found 82% of those surveyed said abortions should be legal in the case of rape, and 63% said it should be legal if the fetus is detected to have severe disabilities or health problems.

Only 46% of South Carolinians said abortion should be legal for any reason.

Vicki Ringer, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said South Carolina’s current 20-week ban allows those to get the health care that they need.

“The thing to feel bad about is they had to travel away from their homes, away from their comfort center, away from their families, stay in a hotel and be with a doctor they don’t know in order to get care, and that is something the entire country should feel ashamed about,” Ringer said.

Ringer said calling South Carolina a destination state for abortion is “obscene.”

“They make it sound like it’s a trip to Disney World. These people are not coming for a vacation,” Ringer said. “To refer to this as a destination or vacation is an insult to women who are seeking care.”

State legislatures have voted to restrict or expand abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which struck down Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision which guaranteed the right to an abortion.

Prior to the high court’s ruling, South Carolina lawmakers passed a law that banned abortions at about six weeks, or once fetal cardiac activity is detected. Months later, the state Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision ruled the law unconstitutional, with the majority arguing the ban violated the right to privacy in the state Constitution.

South Carolina House and Senate Republican lawmakers have been unable to agree on how far to restrict abortions.

After the Dobbs decision, the General Assembly returned for a special session last year to pass an abortion ban. The House passed a near-total ban, while the Senate said it only had the votes to pass a ban at six weeks. The two chambers were unable to come to an agreement.

A repeat of similar efforts, the House in February passed a near-total abortion ban, with few exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly and to prevent death. The Senate again passed a six-week ban with exceptions.

“We’re at a little bit of an impasse with the House,” said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield. “We have been for several months. We’re going to do our best to try to break the impasse.”

But, Massey conceded, “I have no reason to believe the votes (in the Senate) are any different now than they were a few months ago. However, there are a number who want to see what that looks like with this version of the bill.”

If the Senate fails to pass the near-total ban, it’s unclear whether House Republicans will concede to the upper chamber’s version.

“We’re running out of time (in the legislative year, which ends May 11), and so we’ll have to discuss what to do,” Hiott said. “We have a lot of different opinions and people want to do this and do that thinking what kind of scenarios are out there, but nobody knows.”

Hiott, who supports a near-total ban and wants to abortion “all together,” said he may not get the abortion law he wants.

“I don’t think we’re going to get to that point (of a complete ban), but let’s see where we are. Let’s get as close as we can,” Hiott said. “Even the staunch pro-lifers are probably tired of having this conversation.”

Out-of-state cases lead to abortion increase in SC

Abortions are on the rise in South Carolina due in large part to outside visitors seeking the procedures, data shows:

▪ January 2022: 27 (In state: 493)

▪ February 2022: 30 (In state: 468)

▪ March 2022: 30 (In state: 606)

▪ April: 2022: 29 (In state: 664)

▪ May 2022: 34 (In state: 599)

▪ June 2022, when U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Roe: 29 (In state: 466).

▪ July 2022: 11 (In state: 193)

▪ August 2022, when S.C. Supreme Court temporarily blocks six-week ban: 97 (In state: 288)

▪ September 2022: 314 (In state: 470)

▪ October 2022: 350 (In state: 405)

▪ November 2022: 344 (In state: 479)

▪ December 2022: 414 (In state: 437)

▪ January 2023, when S.C. Supreme Court rules six-week ban unconstitutional: 470 (In state: 513)

▪ February 2023: 482 (In state: 504)

▪ March 2023: 433 (In state: 525)

Source: Provisional data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control