The SC Senate passed 30- 13 a bill to ban almost all abortions last Thursday.

It now heads to the House where it passed easily in past years.

Gov. Henry McMaster has said he will sign it.

The SC Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act requires doctors to:

• Use ultrasound to detect fetal heart beats if they think pregnant women are at least 8 weeks along.

• If they find a heartbeat and the pregnancy is not the result of rape or incest, they can’t perform an abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger.

Similar laws in other states have been challenged in court.

Abortion rights advocates and opponents are waiting to see if the US Supreme Court rules the stricter bans are unconstitutional.

Democrats called this shameful because the state has more pressing problems including covid.

Democratic Sen. Margie Bright Matthews of Walterboro said the state has not expanded Medicaid, raised minimum wages and has an education system ranked near the bottom of the nation.

“What have we done for the living?” she said.