South Carolina passes bill banning abortion after 19 weeks

Women in SC will no longer be able to have abortions after 19 weeks of pregnancy unless their lives are in danger, after the state's legislature passed a new bill on Tuesday.

An abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later, calculated as the weeks past fertilization, also would be legal if a doctor says it is necessary to protect the mother from death or severe bodily impairment.

The legislation allows exceptions in specific cases: when the mother's life is determined to be in danger or when a doctor diagnoses that the fetus is unable to survive outside the womb. "In fact, it's a $41.7 billion industry that drives this state", said Sumpter, whose figures are borne out by a 2015 report commissioned by Clemson University Public Services Activities, the Palmetto AgriBusiness Council, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture and the South Carolina Farm Bureau.

The South Carolina bill has no exceptions for rape or incest.

Alyssa Miller from Planned Parenthood South Atlantic says women and their families in those states have been put through highly stressful situations such as having the need to terminate pregnancy due to medical reasons, but were not able to do so.

Gov. Nikki Haley doesn't object when the state offers special tax incentives to attract new business and industry to the state.

"I believe that life begins at conception and every step we can take to get back to that point is important", the bill's sponsor, Republican Representative Wendy Nanney said. They've been blocked by court challenges in three others. An abundance of medical evidence establishes that the unborn reaches this developmental stage by 20 weeks, if not earlier.

SC farmers said 2015 ranks among the worst years ever for them.

Haley said last week her heart breaks for farmers wiped out when up to 2 feet of rain fell in 12 hours in October over wide parts of SC. Similar laws are now in effect in 12 of those states, but litigation has stalled the measures in three others. She says there's also a variety of federal assistance for farmers affected by natural disasters.

The "dismemberment" ban "has virtually no chance of passing this year" in SC, according to ABC News-but that is unlikely to deter its supporters.

The S.C. House voted 79-29 to give final approval to a bill Tuesday.

In the following video, former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino details a D&E abortion procedure, one of the most prevalent procedures in the late term. Each was struck down as unconstitutional by courts, according to the National Women's Law Center.