South Carolina passes bill banning abortion after 19 weeks

The South Carolina bill is among several fronts abortion rights supporters say make having the procedure tougher.

Abortion opponents have also passed laws in other states requiring clinics to get admitting privileges for doctors and banning a procedure commonly used in the second trimester, called the dilation and evacuation method.

The ban allows exceptions only if the mother's life is in jeopardy or a doctor determines the fetus can't survive outside the womb.

South Carolina legislators borrowed the wording for that exception from Georgia, where state court blocked enforcement of Georgia's 20-week ban in 2012.

Wouldn't it be interesting if we take dollar-for-dollar the money we're going to spend litigating unconstitutional bills and put it into something that makes a difference in South Carolina?

On average, fewer than 30 abortions yearly are performed at 20 weeks gestation or beyond, according to data since 1990 from the state's public health agency.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Greg Delleney said the law "prevents infanticide," noting it ties the fetus' age to conception, rather than a woman's monthly cycle, so the ban refers to what doctors generally consider a gestational age of 22 weeks.