COLUMBIA, S.C. — The immediate effects of the overturning of Roe v. Wade are being felt across the country, and in South Carolina that includes a law that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Last year, Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill that effectively banned abortions after six weeks, which is typically when heartbeats are detected. The Fetal Heartbeat Act passed its third reading in the state House with 74 votes in favor and 39 against. Prior to that, the state Senate approved the bill with a largely party-line vote of 30-13.
However, the bill did not immediately become law; a federal judge temporarily blocked it from taking effect for about a year. This week, that judge issued a stay on her own earlier injunction, allowing the six-week ban to come into effect.
In South Carolina, a bill can only be sent to the governor for signing into law after both the state House and Senate do three readings each. This bill was first introduced in the Senate, meaning the first three readings happened there. After the final Senate reading, it was then sent to the House for their own set of three readings. After it was ratified in February 2021, it was quickly sent to Gov. McMaster's desk and promptly signed before the federal injunction.
Here's a breakdown of who voted for and against the fetal heartbeat bill in both chambers. Representatives and senators who represent York, Chester, Lancaster, and Chesterfield counties are noted in bold.
South Carolina House Votes
For:
- Merita A. Allison (R-36)
- Nathan Ballentine (R-71)
- Bart T. Blackwell (R-81)
- Bruce M. Bryant (R-48)
- Paula Rawl Calhoon (R-87)
- Bobby J. Cox (R-21)
- Victor M. Dabney (R-52)
- Jason Elliott (R-22)
- Cally R. Forrest (R-39)
- Gil Gatch (R-94)
- Kevin Hardee (R-105)
- William M. Hixon (R-83)
- Jeffery E. Johnson (R-58)
- Thomas R. Ligon (R-43)
- James H. Lucas (R-65)
- Robert J. May III (R-88)
- Sandy N. McGarry (R-44)
- Adam M. Morgan (R-20)
- Brandon Newton (R-45)
- Melissa Lackey Oremus (R-84)
- William E. Sandifer III (R-2)
- Garry R. Smith (R-27)
- Anne J. Thayer (R-9)
- Brian White (R-6)
- Chris Wooten (R-69)
- Lucas Atkinson (R-57)
- Bruce W. Bannister (R-24)
- Jeffrey A. Bradley (R-123)
- James Mikell Burns (R-17)
- William M. Chumley (R-35)
- Westley P. Cox (R-10)
- Joseph S. Daning (R-92)
- Shannon S. Erickson (R-124)
- Russell W. Fry (R-106)
- Leon D. Gilliam (R-42)
- William G. Herbkersman (R-118)
- Chip Huggins (R-85)
- Stewart O. Jones (R-14)
- Steven Wayne Long (R-37)
- Josiah Magnuson (R-38)
- Donald R. McCabe (R-96)
- Timothy A. McGinnis (R-56)
- Dennis C. Moss (R-29)
- William Weston Newton (R-120)
- Russell L. Ott (D-93)
- J. Gary Simrill (R-46)
- Marvin Smith (R-99)
- Ashley B. Trantham (R-28)
- William R. Whitmire (R-1)
- Richard L. Yow (R-53)
- William H. Bailey (R-104)
- Linda Bennett (R-114)
- Thomas C. Brittain Jr. (R-107)
- Joseph M. Bustos (R-112)
- Neal A. Collins (R-5)
- Heather Ammons Crawford (R-68)
- Sylleste H. Davis (R-100)
- R. Raye Felder (R-26)
- Craig A. Gagnon (R-11)
- Patrick B. Haddon (R-19)
- Lee Hewitt (R-108)
- Max T. Hyde Jr. (R-32)
- Mandy Kimmons (R-97, resigned in 2021)
- Phillip D. Lowe (R-60)
- Richard Martin (R-40)
- John R. McCravy III (R-13)
- Travis A. Moore (R-33)
- Chris Murphy (R-98)
- Roger A. Nutt (R-34)
- Thomas E. Pope (R-47)
- George Murrell Smith Jr. (R-67)
- Bill Taylor (R-86)
- John Taliaferro West IV (R-7)
- Mark N. Willis (R-16)
Against:
- Terry Alexander (D-59)
- Wendy C. Brawley (D-70)
- Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-66)
- Kambrell H. Garvin (D-77)
- Christopher R. Hart (D-73)
- Lonnie Hosey (D-91)
- Jermaine L. Johnson Sr. (D-80)
- Roger R. Kirby (D-61)
- Cezar E. McKnight (D-101)
- Marvin R. Pendarvis (D-113)
- Seth Rose (D-72)
- Ivory Torrey Thigpen (D-79)
- William W. Wheeler III (D-50)
- Carl L. Anderson (D-103)
- Jerry T. Carter (R-3)
- William Scott Cogswell Jr. (R-110)
- Wendell G. Gilliard (D-111)
- Rosalyn D. Henderson-Myers (D-31)
- Leon Howard (D-76)
- Kimberly O. Johnson (D-64)
- Krystle N. Matthews (D-117)
- Chardale R. Murray (D-116)
- Michael F. Rivers Sr. (D-121)
- James Todd Rutherford (D-74)
- J. David Weeks (D-51)
- Robert Q. Williams (D-62)
- Beth E. Bernstein (D-78)
- William Clyburn (D-82)
- Chandra E. Dillard (D-23)
- Jerry N. Govan Jr. (D-95)
- Patricia Moore Henegan (D-54)
- Joseph H. Jefferson Jr. (D-102)
- John Richard C. King (D-49)
- Annie E. McDaniel (D-41)
- J. Anne Parks (D-12)
- Leola C. Robinson (D-25)
- Leonidas Stavrinakis (D-119)
- Elizabeth Wetmore (D-115)
- Shedron D. Williams (D-122)
South Carolina Senate votes
For:
- Brian Adams (R-44)
- George E. Campsen III (R-43)
- Thomas D. Corbin (R-5)
- Michael W. Gambrell (R-4)
- Lawrence K. Grooms (R-37)
- Michael R. Johnson (R-16)
- Dwight A. Loftis (R-6)
- Harvey S. Peeler Jr. (D-14)
- Katrina Frye Shealy (D-23)
- Daniel B. Verdin III (R-9)
- Thomas C. Alexander (R-1)
- Richard J. Cash (R-3)
- Ronnie W. Cromer (R-18)
- Billy Garrett (R-10)
- Penry Gustafson (R-27)
- Josh Kimbrell (R-11)
- Shane R. Martin (R-13)
- Luke A. Rankin (R-33)
- Scott Talley (R-12)
- Kent M. Williams (D-30)
- Sean M. Bennett (R-38)
- Wes Climer (R-15)
- Tom Davis (R-46)
- Stephen L. Goldfinch (R-34)
- Greg Hembree (R-28)
- Hugh Leatherman (R-31, passed in November 2021)
- A. Shane Massey (R-25)
- Rex F. Rice (R-2)
- Ross Turner (R-8)
- Tom Young Jr. (R-24)
Against:
- Karl B. Allen (D-7)
- Brad Hutto (D-40)
- Margie Bright Matthews (D-45)
- Ronnie A. Sabb (D-32)
- Vernon Stephens (D-39)
- Mike Fanning (D-17)
- Kevin Johnson (D-36)
- J. Thomas McElveen III (D-35)
- John L. Scott Jr. (D-19)
- Richard A. Harpootlian (D-20)
- Gerald Malloy (D-29)
- Mia S. McLeod (D-22)
- Sandy Senn (R-41)