COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Twenty states including Montana, Idaho, North Dakota and Utah are supporting South Carolina’s defense of a new abortion law. The states argue in an amicus brief filed this week that a federal judge shouldn't have paused the entire measure, just the provision being challenged in court.
Planned Parenthood is suing over the measure, which Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law earlier this year. It requires doctors to perform ultrasounds to check for a heartbeat in the fetus, which can typically be detected about six weeks after conception.
If cardiac activity is detected, the abortion can be performed only if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or the mother’s life was in danger.
