(LifeSiteNews) – South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law Thursday a ban on aborting babies with detectable heartbeats, declaring that it “will begin saving the lives of unborn children immediately.”
The Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally at the first six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape and incest up to 12 weeks, and exceptions for medical emergencies or fatal fetal abnormalities. It does not extend to babies younger than six weeks.
“This is a great day for life in South Carolina, but the fight is not over,” McMaster declared, WIS TV reported. “We stand ready to defend this legislation against any challenges and are confident we will succeed. The right to life must be preserved, and we will do everything we can to protect it.”
Donald Trump has suggested a 6-week abortion ban is ''too harsh'', attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis for his bill protecting innocent human life after 6 weeks.
Obviously pro-lifers wish to protect all human life from conception with outright abortion bans.
SIGN: Donald Trump MUST support pro-life legislation
The former president said he is ''looking at all alternatives'' when asked if he would support such a 6-week ban, making this a crucial opportunity for pro-life voters to make their views known to him in no uncertain terms.
"He has to do what he has to do," Trump said about Gov. DeSantis' abortion bill. "If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people don't even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh."
Anyone truly in the pro-life movement thinking the ban is too harsh must mean it's too harsh on those babies less than 6-weeks who can still be murdered.
Mr. Trump's outlandish claim about anyone in the pro-life movement opposing the ban is doubtful to say the least, but there was more to follow in the interview.
When pressed on whether he thought the bill was ''too harsh'', Trump would not answer directly, instead saying: ''I'm looking at all alternatives. I'm looking at many alternatives. But I was able to get us to the table by terminating Roe v. Wade. That's the most important thing that's ever happened for the pro-life movement.''
The former president is correct in saying the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a monumental step for the pro-life movement, but it should only be the beginning of banning the killing of babies in the womb entirely.
Donald Trump's belief that even a 6-week abortion ban is extreme spells trouble for every citizen concerned about ending abortion, which is why we need you to take part in this urgent petition to him.
SIGN & SHARE: We must change Donald Trump's mind on abortion
Our true loyalty is to innocent human beings facing death, none more so than those in the womb, and any candidate who prevaricates about something so important to building a civilized society has to be corrected.
We urge all Republican candidates to advocate for a total ban on abortion, without any exceptions - not just at 6-week's gestation as an incremental measure.
SIGN & SHARE our petition urging Donald Trump to do the right thing.
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Trump distances himself from 6-week abortion ban by DeSantis: 'Too harsh' - LifeSiteNews
Planned Parenthood has already said it will file a lawsuit against the new law. It remains to be seen how the case will fare in court, given the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down a previous heartbeat law in January.
Enactment of the heartbeat law follows the defeat earlier this month of a law to ban most abortions starting at conception, against which three Republican state senators joined a Democrat and an Independent to filibuster, to the frustration of state pro-life activists.
Fourteen states currently ban all or most abortions, thanks to last summer’s overturn of Roe v. Wade putting abortion back in the hands of the democratic process. As state pro-life efforts continue, so does debate over whether the next Republican presidential administration would pursue national protection for the preborn.
At the same time, abortion allies are aggressively pursuing a variety of strategies to preserve abortion “access” in the new legal landscape, including easing distribution of abortion pills, legal protection and financial support of interstate abortion travel, attempting to enshrine “rights” to the practice in state constitutions, attempting to construct new abortion facilities near borders shared by pro-life and pro-abortion states, and making liberal states sanctuaries for those who want to evade or violate the laws of more pro-life neighbors.
President Joe Biden has called on Congress to codify a “right” to abortion in federal law, which would not only restore but expand the Roe status quo by making it illegal for states to pass virtually any pro-life laws. Democrats currently lack the votes to do so, but whether they get those votes is sure to be one of the major issues of the 2024 elections.