Vicki Ringer, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic in the South Carolina Supreme Court in Columbia, Jan. 5 JAMES POLLARD/AP
South Carolina’s highest court on Thursday overturned a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. “We believe that our constitutional right to privacy covers women’s choice to have an abortion,” she said.
On a similar basis, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, American women’s right to abortion. But last June, in a historic reversal, it deemed that decision wrong and gave each state the freedom to legislate on the matter as it pleases.
A broken country
Since then, the country has been divided between the states that have enacted bans, mainly in the south and center, and those that have increased access to abortion on their soil, more along the coasts.
Also Read: Abortion in the US: Which American States Have Banned or Protected Voluntary Abortion?
And that landscape is very fluid, with each action being the subject of cascading appeals to the local courts.
Since June, restrictive measures have been urgently blocked in several states pending substantive decisions. The South Carolina Supreme Court is the first to make a final ruling.
“Monumental Victory”
“This is a monumental victory for legal abortion protections in the South,” responded Planned Parenthood, which manages many abortion clinics.
This opens up new perspectives for women in the region who do not have access to abortion, particularly in the states of Alabama and Tennessee.
However, this is not necessarily the end of the war. In its decision, the South Carolina Supreme Court states that the right to privacy can be “restricted” if done in a “reasonable” manner.
This statement could allow local lawmakers to introduce new restrictions.