S.C. Supreme Court upholds 6-week abortion ban

The South Carolina Supreme Court has upheld the state’s six-week abortion ban in a unanimous ruling against Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights advocates. The plaintiffs argued that the law’s language — banning abortions once cardiac activity is detected in a fetus — could be interpreted to give women up to nine weeks to obtain an abortion. But the justices were not swayed, finding that lawmakers intended to ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Gov. Henry McMaster praised Wednesday’s ruling as a “clear and decisive victory.”