SW News: In South Carolina, a public hearing took place on Thursday to discuss the banning of nearly all abortions in the state. A committee of the House of Representatives heard the testimony of numerous speakers on whether or not the state should impose any further restrictions on abortion than it does currently.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court, other Republican-led states have made most abortions illegal. All termination of pregnancies from conception has been banned except in cases where the life of the mother is at risk. Performing an abortion has been declared a felony which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

States led by Democrats are hastily trying to protect abortion rights while 20-odd states led by Republicans have taken steps to ban abortion almost entirely while also placing limits on out-of-state abortions and limiting access to abortion pills.

Abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy is already outlawed in South Carolina. In fact, the legislature of the state was the first to enact the trigger law it already had in place after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.

Other US states with similar trigger laws are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.