Restrictions on IUDs and IVF and decades of imprisonment for having an abortion could become the reality for some women living in South Carolina.
The most restrictive abortion bill in the United States is being considered by South Carolina politicians, but the bill, which goes before a small group of state senators on Tuesday, faces a long legal journey and there is doubt as to whether it will be approved.
But at this stage the bill has gone further than any other similar proposal in the US since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Ban on contraceptives
Under the existing state law abortions are banned after cardiac activity is detected — typically six weeks into a pregnancy.
There are exceptions for rape and incest victims, who can undergo an abortion up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy.
The Unborn Child Protection Act would impose a total abortion ban unless the woman's life is threatened.
Women who get an abortion and anyone who helps them could face up to 30 years in prison.
Doctors who provide information about abortions or suggest where the procedure is legal could also face prison.
The proposed legislation would ban contraception that prevents a fertilised egg from implanting, including intra-uterine devices (IUD) and could limit in vitro fertilisation.
Obstetrician and gynaecologist Natalie Gregory said passing such a bill would make the discussion of contraceptives or losing a pregnancy a "legal minefield" in her practice.
"It constitutes a unconstitutional reach that threatens the very fabric of healthcare in our state," she said.
The subcommittee
Republican Senator Richard Cash is sponsoring the bill and is one of six Republicans on the subcommittee of nine.
He is one of the Senate's most strident voices against abortion.
Last month Senator Cash acknowledged problems with potentially banning contraception and restricting the advice doctors can give to patients.
But he has given no indication of what changes he or others on the subcommittee might support.
Abortion remains an unsettled issue in conservative states and the question of further restricting it is fracturing anti-abortion groups.
South Carolina Citizens for Life, one of the state's largest and oldest anti-abortion groups, issued a statement last month saying it did not support Senator Cash's bill because women who got abortions were victims too and should not be punished.
In September Guttmacher Institute principal state policy advisor Kimya Forouzan expressed his opposition to the bill.
"SB323 [the bill] is not about protecting health — it is about denying people care, criminalising providers and putting South Carolinians' lives at risk," he said in his testimony.
"Every provision of SB323 is dangerous and unsupported by evidence.
"It will only cause greater harm to South Carolinians' health and wellbeing.
"South Carolina lawmakers should reject this dangerous bill and instead focus on protecting the reproductive health and rights of all South Carolinians."
ABC/AP
