SW News: In what seems to be an attempt to stifle the pro-life movement in the American state of South Carolina, a circuit court judge has blocked an abortion ban from taking effect. Circuit Judge Clifton Newman temporarily halted the state's new law that bans most abortions when the fetal heartbeat is detected after about six weeks. This ban comes a day after Republican Governor Henry McMaster signed it into law.

The ruling now permits a previous law allowing abortions up to 20 weeks to stay in effect until the state Supreme Court has reviewed the new ban. Under the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, there are limited exceptions in medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies, and cases of rape or incest within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. And the doctors who perform abortions that do not comply with its restrictions could face felony charges punishable by two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The new ban was an altered version of earlier anti-abortion legislation ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court earlier this year. It permits the termination of pregnancy up to 12 weeks of gestation in cases of rape and incest, as well as an exception when there is a medical emergency.

If upheld by the state Supreme Court, the law will prohibit the flow of pregnant women from nearby states in the southern part of the United States with strict abortion laws seeking the termination of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, the Republican governor has submitted an emergency motion asking the state Supreme Court to take the issue up quickly.