21 states file support for South Carolina’s fetal heartbeat law

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF) - Twenty-one states filed an amicus brief supporting South Carolina’s Fetal Heartbeat Law.

Attorney General Wilson and Gov. Henry McMaster filed a petition last week asking the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a federal district court’s preliminary injunction of the law.

“The Fetal Heartbeat Law is about protecting the lives of unborn children, but it’s also about protecting the Constitution and the rule of law,” Wilson said. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that justifies abortions and, in fact, we believe abortion violates the constitutional rights to life and equal protection.”

McMaster signed the Fetal Heartbeat Act into law on February 18, 2021. The law limits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, requires abortion providers to give the mother the opportunity to see an ultrasound, hear her baby’s heartbeat, and receive information about her child’s development.

“From the day I signed the Heartbeat bill into law, we knew it would be an uphill battle - but a battle well worth fighting,” said McMaster. “We’re grateful that Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and 20 other states share our goals of protecting the right to life and our concern with the three-judge panel’s apparent disregard for South Carolina’s sovereign authority.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall led the amicus brief and was joined by the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

You can read the full brief here.