South Carolina supreme court rules six-week abortion ban unconstitutional

The law was written in 2021, before the federal constitutional right to abortion was dismantled by the US supreme court, and came into effect three days after that decision, on 27 June 2022.

The judgment also casts doubt on whether any future plans by the legislature to bring a total ban on abortion would be considered unconstitutional.

During legal arguments in October, justices had debated whether the six-week ban allowed individuals to practice their rights to make informed medical decisions.

In the decision today, Chief Justice Donald Beatty ruled that the time frame was not reasonable.