If Roe v. Wade goes, here’s how York County lawmakers want to address abortion laws
Politico published a leaked draft opinion Monday night by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. And by Tuesday morning, dozens of South Carolina political leaders had voiced vehement support of the potential ruling, while others emphasized to voters that it’s not too late.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling will not be final until the decision is published, possibly in June or July. If the court weakens or overturns Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights, at least 26 states appear likely to ban abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
South Carolina, which has for decades debated whether a woman should have the right to an abortion, is one of those states.
In 2021, the state Legislature passed a ban that seeks to stop abortions at six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat is detected. A court challenge was filed to temporarily block the law from taking effect, but the U.S. Supreme Court’s potential ruling could decide what South Carolina does next.
And while the state’s abortion ban has stalled, Republican lawmakers, including those who represent York County, have continued to push other anti-abortion-related legislation.
State lawmakers continue anti-abortion push
State legislators sat in session Tuesday to debate other topics, but some took time to address the leak.
In an email Tuesday, state Rep. Tommy Pope considered implications for South Carolina. Pope, a Republican and speaker pro tem, represents much of northern York County in an area between Lake Wylie and York, including Clover.
“My initial reaction is, according to the Court’s underlying basis for the ruling, the litigation regarding the fetal heartbeat law we already passed may resolve itself on the side of pro-life,” Pope said. “That in itself would be a tremendous victory for preserving life. Past that, I foresee members again filing the Personhood bill or even an outright ban.”
The personhood law, co-sponsored by Pope, would establish full legals rights for eggs from the moment of fertilization.
Republican state Rep. Raye Felder, who represents much of the Fort Mill area and some of eastern Rock Hill, emailed her thoughts Tuesday morning on what the state should do if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
“As the stewards of public money, the general assembly should continue the focus on not allowing public dollars to fund abortions and challenge every federal requirement that relinquishes our state’s power,” Felder wrote.
Local opposition to Supreme Court draft
York County Democratic Party Chairman John Kraljevich said Tuesday those who believe a woman has a right to make a medical choice for her own body “should be horrified” by the precedent that would be set in the leaked draft.
“What Roe v. Wade does is acknowledge that women are human and that women are Americans and as such, they are entitled to autonomy over their own bodies, and over the decisions they make regarding them,” he said.
He encouraged those who are concerned about the possible decision to assist in electing people who support abortion rights.
“The only way to help overcome what we see as a terrible decision — of course, it’s not an actual decision yet — but if that’s what is, in fact coming, the only way to work to overcome that is to work to elect Democrats who share these ideas,” he said.
Based on the arguments made in Alito’s draft, Kraljevich said Roe v. Wade isn’t the only landmark decision in jeopardy. He said the draft’s argument against Roe v. Wade’s guarantee of bodily autonomy and privacy could endanger rulings that ensure people’s rights to interracial marriage, gay marriage and contraception.
“All of these rights are now under attack, and the same group of people that are taking their own religion-based construction of bodily autonomy, and the definition of life would love to see those rights terminated as well,” he said.
Kraljevich suggested those in York County who want to take action against the ruling reach out to the county party and volunteer, and donate to groups that are working to ensure women have access to safe and legal abortions.
“In South Carolina, obviously, we’re not in a position where we’re going to win the general assembly back, but even being able to have a large enough minority to be able to filibuster the sort of laws that are inevitably going to be proposed, helps us a great deal.”
Federal SC lawmakers approve
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican, represents a portion of South Carolina that includes York, Lancaster and Chester counties. A Tuesday blog post on Norman’s website addresses the possible overturn of Roe v. Wade.
The post calls the decision from nearly five decades ago an “un-Constitutional, dark shadow on our nation” but states that debate will continue on the state level even if the federal rule is gone. The post mentions speculation that the leak was an effort to stir momentum from pro-abortion groups, but also that it’s hard to imagine a Supreme Court justice being swayed by the uproar the leak might cause.
Norman’s post forecasts an anticipated push from a Democrat-controlled Congress to “try and rush through some questionable legislation” on abortion rights before elections in November. Norman’s post states it isn’t his intention to bring emotional pain to women who have had abortions, and that Christians are called to “pray and help comfort when able.”
“With that said,” the blog post reads, “I sincerely hope this news is true. It would be a huge leap forward for the right to life of the unborn.”
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, also a Republican, posted a series of tweets Tuesday in which Graham called the leak a sad time for the Supreme Court and dangerous one for the rule of law. Graham tweeted that the integrity of the court has been compromised and that “the radical Left is hell-bent on reshaping institutions that have stood in the way of the outcomes they desire.”
As for overturning Roe v. Wade, Graham tweeted that decision — one he believes was “one of the largest power grabs in the history of the Court” — will put the question of abortion to each state.
“That, in my view,” Graham tweeted, “is the most constitutionally sound way of dealing with this issue and the way the United States handled the issue until 1973.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 2:43 PM.
