S 32 Session 123 (2019-2020) S 0032 General Bill, By Grooms, Hembree, Verdin, Gregory, Climer, Shealy, Talley, Campbell and Turner
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA FETAL HEARTBEAT PROTECTION FROM Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat Protection from SECTION 2. Chapter 41, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
![]() ![]() Section 44-41-610. As used in this article: (1) 'Conception' means fertilization. (2) 'Contraceptive' means a drug, device, or chemical that prevents conception. (3) 'Fetal heartbeat' means cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac. (4) 'Gestational age' means the age of an unborn human individual as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of a pregnant woman. (5) 'Gestational sac' means the structure that comprises the extraembryonic membranes that envelop the human fetus and that is typically visible by ultrasound after the fourth week of pregnancy. (6) 'Human fetus' or 'unborn child' each means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth. (7) 'Intrauterine pregnancy' means a pregnancy in which the human fetus is attached to the placenta within the uterus of the pregnant woman.
(8) 'Medical emergency' means a condition that, in reasonable medical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of the pregnant woman that it necessitates the immediate (9) 'Physician' means any person licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery in this State. (10) 'Reasonable medical judgment' means a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved. (11) 'Spontaneous miscarriage' means the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy and the expulsion of the human fetus, typically caused by genetic defects in the human fetus or physical abnormalities in the pregnant woman. Section 44-41-620. (A) It is the intent of the legislature that a court judgment or order suspending enforcement of any provision of this article or of Sections 44-41-10 through 44-41-480 is not to be regarded as tantamount to repeal of that provision.
(B) After the issuance of a decision by the United States Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), the issuance of any other court order or judgment restoring, expanding, or clarifying the authority of states to prohibit or regulate (1) a declaration that any one or more of the statutory provisions specified in subsection (A) are constitutional; (2) a judgment or order lifting an injunction against the enforcement of any one or more of the statutory provisions specified in subsection (A). (C) If the Attorney General fails to apply for the relief described in subsection (B) within the thirty-day period after an event described in that subsection occurs, any county prosecutor may apply to the appropriate state or federal court for such relief. Section 44-41-630. The General Assembly hereby finds, according to contemporary medical research, all of the following: (1) As many as thirty percent of natural pregnancies end in spontaneous miscarriage. (2) Fewer than five percent of all natural pregnancies end in spontaneous miscarriage after detection of fetal cardiac activity. (3) Over ninety percent of in vitro pregnancies survive the first trimester if cardiac activity is detected in the gestational sac. (4) Nearly ninety percent of in vitro pregnancies do not survive the first trimester where cardiac activity is not detected in the gestational sac. (5) Fetal heartbeat is a key medical predictor that an unborn human individual will reach live birth. (6) Cardiac activity begins at a biologically identifiable moment in time, normally when the fetal heart is formed in the gestational sac. (7) The State of South Carolina has legitimate interests from the outset of the pregnancy in protecting the health of the woman and the life of an unborn human individual who may be born. (8) In order to make an informed choice about whether to continue a pregnancy, a pregnant woman has a legitimate interest in knowing the likelihood of the human fetus surviving to full-term birth based upon the presence of cardiac activity. Section 44-41-640. This article applies only to intrauterine pregnancies.
Section 44-41-650. The (1) perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman, using whichever method the physician and patient agree is best under the circumstance; (2) during the performance of the ultrasound, display the ultrasound images so that the pregnant woman may view the images; and (3) record a written medical description of the ultrasound images of the unborn child's cardiac activity, if present and viewable.
Section 44-41-660. If the pregnancy is at least eight weeks after fertilization, the
Section 44-41-670. (A) Except as provided in Section 44-41-680, no person shall perform or induce or attempt to perform or induce an (B) Whoever violates subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
Section 44-41-680. (A) Section 44-41-670 does not apply to a physician who performs or induces the
(B) A physician who performs or induces an
(1) the physician's belief that a medical emergency necessitating the (2) the medical condition of the pregnant woman that assertedly prevented compliance with Section 44-41-670. (C) For at least seven years from the date the notations are made, the physician shall maintain in the physician's own records a copy of the notations. Section 44-41-690. A physician is not in violation of Section 44-41-670 if the physician acts in accordance with Section 44-41-650 and the method used to test for the presence of a fetal heartbeat does not reveal a fetal heartbeat.
Section 44-41-700. (A) Except as provided in Section 44-41-710, no person shall perform or induce or attempt to perform or induce an (B) Whoever violates subsection (A) is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction, must be fined ten thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. Section 44-41-710. (A) Section 44-41-700 does not apply to a physician who performs a medical procedure that, in reasonable medical judgment, is designed or intended to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. (B) A physician who performs a medical procedure as described in subsection (A) shall declare, in a written document, that the medical procedure is necessary, in reasonable medical judgment, to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. In the document, the physician shall specify the pregnant woman's medical condition that the medical procedure is asserted to address and the medical rationale for the physician's conclusion that the medical procedure is necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. (C) A physician who performs a medical procedure as described in subsection (A) shall place the written document required by subsection (B) in the pregnant woman's medical records. For at least seven years from the date the document is created, the physician shall maintain a copy of the document in the physician's own records. Section 44-41-720. A physician is not in violation of Section 44-41-700 if the physician acts in accordance with Section 44-41-650 and the method used to test for the presence of a fetal heartbeat does not reveal a fetal heartbeat.
Section 44-41-730. This article must not be construed to repeal, by implication or otherwise, Section 44-41-20 or any otherwise applicable provision of South Carolina law regulating or restricting Section 44-41-740. Nothing in this article prohibits the sale, use, prescription, or administration of a drug, device, or chemical that is designed for contraceptive purposes.
Section 44-41-750. A pregnant woman on whom an Section 44-41-760. (A) A woman who meets any one or more of the following criteria may file a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction:
(1) a woman on whom an
(2) a woman on whom an (B) A woman who prevails in an action filed pursuant to subsection (A) shall receive both of the following from the person who committed the one or more acts described in subsection (A): (1) damages in an amount equal to ten thousand dollars or an amount determined by the trier of fact after consideration of the evidence; and (2) court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. (C) If the defendant in an action filed pursuant to subsection (A) prevails and the court finds that the commencement of the action constitutes frivolous conduct and that the defendant was adversely affected by the frivolous conduct, the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to the defendant, provided, however, that a conclusion of frivolousness cannot rest upon the unconstitutionality of the provision that was allegedly violated." SECTION 3. Section 44-41-460(A) of the 1976 Code is amended by adding appropriately numbered items at the end to read: "( ) The information related to fetal heartbeat testing required pursuant to Sections 44-41-650, 44-41-680, and 44-41-710, as applicable.
( ) Whether the reason for the SECTION 4. Section 44-41-330(A)(1) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(1)(a) The woman must be informed by the physician who is to perform the
(b) If the physician who intends to perform or induce an SECTION 5. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this , and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective. SECTION 6. The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary, permanent, civil, or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon or alter, discharge, release, or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws. SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
|