Protest planned in Beaufort County against abortion ruling, other reaction mixed
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Abortion in South Carolina
In a historial move, the Supreme Court of the U.S. has overturned landmark ruling Roe v. Wade. Read more about what that means for South Carolina abortion laws.
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Shortly after the nation’s highest court overturned Roe v. Wade — the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion — there was little reaction in and around Beaufort County on Friday.
However, a rally opposing the Supreme Court of the United State’s decision Friday will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in front of the Beaufort County Government Center on Bluffton Parkway. The event is open to the public, and participants are asked to bring their own signs.
Some Beaufort County locals and officials called the ruling to reverse Roe v. Wade “devastating,” while others agreed with the high court and said they were “grateful” for the decision.
The Beaufort County Democratic Party said, “We live in a state where elected officials openly brag about the amount of repressive laws they have drafted. We know that when our General Assembly reconvenes on Tuesday, the top priority will be banning abortion statewide with no exceptions, while our people struggle daily in so many other aspects of life,” the party’s Friday statement read.
“Make no mistake, states like ours were the direct target today. We know that today’s decision is devastating to many and know that we are here for you however we can be.”
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a Mississippi-based case centering on viability, intended to uphold a state law making abortion illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court took it one step further and banned abortions altogether.
Although South Carolina does not have a “trigger law” that otherwise would have instantly forced a ban on abortions after the high-court decision, state lawmakers have tried to impose them as recently as January, according to previous reporting by The State newspaper.
Andrea Trudden, Heartbeat International’s vice president of communications and marketing, speaking on behalf of a Beaufort clinic, Radiance Women’s Center, said, “We do agree with the ruling and the fact that this should be a state-by-state discussion. So we are grateful that the Supreme Court took another look at it, and, one, voted in favor of Mississippi but then, two, taking that extra step to actually reverse Roe.”
Radiance Women’s Center is an affiliate of Heartbeat International, and it does not offer or refer for pregnancy terminations or birth control.
That’s not how Dr. Annie Andrews, a Democratic candidate for South Carolina’s First Congressional District, sees the decision to overturn the nearly half-century constitutional right.
“As a mother, I am devastated and infuriated that my daughters are now poised to grow up with fewer rights than my mother had,” Andrews wrote in a tweet. “With this ruling, it is now up to Congress to codify abortion rights into law.”
The pediatrician called herself the only woman who will “fight for the Lowcountry women to make their own reproductive decisions.”
There are no clinics that currently perform abortions in or near Beaufort County. The three clinics that do are Planned Parenthood Columbia Health Center, Planned Parenthood Charleston Health Center and Greenville Women’s Clinic.
The SCOTUS decision came on the heels of public opinion surveys that identified most Americans oppose overturning Roe and handing the question of whether to allow abortion entirely to the states, according to reporting from The Associated Press.
In 2019, more than 5,000 abortions were performed in South Carolina, said a report from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. It is a 17% decline in the rate between 2014 and 2017, The State reported.
Island Packet reporter Ben Morse contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 2:13 PM.
