COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) \u2014 South Carolina House members plan to debate a new total ban on\u00a0abortion\u00a0Tuesday with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest even as some Republicans in the GOP-dominated chamber suggested they can\u2019t\u00a0vote for the bill\u00a0as written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if the exceptions are put into the bill, the chamber\u2019s most conservative members could join with Democrats to kill the bill, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the day before the debate, one of the most conservative House lawmakers said 20 Republican have signed his letter saying they would not commit to voting for the total ban with the rape and incest exceptions, which with the votes against from 43 Democrats would be enough to kill the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith a solid Republican majority in the South Carolina Legislature, there is no reason or excuse we should have to negotiate a lesser position,\u201d Republican Rep. Stewart Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state currently has\u00a0a six-week ban\u00a0but the South Carolina Supreme Court\u00a0suspended the law\u00a0earlier this month while the justices decide on a Planned Parenthood lawsuit that says the ban is an unreasonable invasion of privacy under the state constitution. The decision leaves South Carolina\u2019s abortion ban at 20 weeks for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporters of the total ban in South Carolina want to follow the lead\u00a0of Indiana,\u00a0which earlier in August passed a total ban to go into effect on Sept. 15 with exceptions for rape, incest and if the mother\u2019s life is in danger. West Virginia\u2019s House and Senate\u00a0couldn\u2019t agree\u00a0on stricter abortion rules in a July session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirteen states have so-called\u00a0trigger laws\u00a0designed to outlaw most abortions when the\u00a0U.S. Supreme Court threw out\u00a0the constitutional right to end a pregnancy in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Carolina leaders have watched those developments carefully, as well as events several weeks ago in Kansas, where nearly 60% of voters\u00a0rejected a ballot measure\u00a0that would have allowed the state\u2019s conservative Legislature to ban abortion. Republican Donald Trump received 56% of the 2020 presidential vote in Kansas. Trump won 55% in South Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republican leaders in the South Carolina House allowed for the speaker to call the special session after the leak of a draft opinion indicating the U.S. Supreme Court would allow states to ban abortion. Lawmakers started working on the total ban after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A special House committee then heard public testimony and drafted the total ban bill. It allows abortions if a mother\u2019s life is in danger and then lists a number of different medical emergencies that would fit into that exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The House Judiciary Committee sent the bill to the House floor on a 13-7 vote. All yes votes were from Republicans and all votes against the bill were from Democrats. But three Republican committee members who were at the meeting did not vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just the exceptions making some Republicans pause. The bill includes a statement that \u201cit is undisputed that the life of every human being begins at conception\u201d and some conservatives said they must figure out whether that means child support and tax breaks begin at conception, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The South Carolina House has 80 Republicans, 43 Democrats and one vacancy. The bill needs a majority vote to be sent to the Senate, where stricter bans on abortions have seen tougher fights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster hasn\u2019t given his opinion on this specific bill but has said he would like to see a day where there are no abortions in the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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