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Since the removal of Roe v. Wade last year, states have been granted the right to make their own decisions regarding abortion. Many states are moving to place stringent limits on the procedure; whereas others are making abortion even more accessible.

After the fall of Roe, several states moved to enact fetal heartbeat laws that ban abortion after six weeks. Many of these bills made no exceptions for rape or incest.

However, heartbeat bills and other strict abortion bans continue to face challenges from supporters of abortion rights. In South Carolina, the state's own fetal heartbeat bill got hit with a lawsuit by abortion advocates.

The end result of this was the South Carolina Supreme Court deeming the six-week abortion ban as not in keeping with the state's Constitution and subsequently capsizing the ban.

The end of South Carolina's fetal heartbeat law

According to the South Carolina Supreme Court, the state's law does not align with women's privacy rights. Furthermore, South Carolina's highest court ruled the state passed an "unreasonable restriction" with an abortion ban that kicks in this prematurely.

It's worth noting that the state's heartbeat law did not come to pass until after the overturn of Roe. Previously, South Carolina's prohibitions on abortion access began following 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Because of how the state Supreme Court ruled, the fetal heartbeat law is null and void. Abortion rights advocates lauded the outcome. However, the South Carolina attorney general declared the state disagrees with the Supreme Court's ruling and is looking into further options for the future.

More on the abortion debate

During the 2022 midterm elections, abortion played a role in many races. It has also been cited as a reason why Republicans did not perform as well in the midterms as expected.

Some people, including former President Trump, have warned that GOP members who take hardline positions on abortion are hurting themselves and the party. One example of these hardline positions is opposing abortion even in cases of rape, incest, and/or threat to the woman's health or life.

In Michigan, for instance, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon lost her race to incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A huge part of Dixon's campaign involved her stance on abortion, with Dixon backing bans even in cases of rape, incest, and threat to the woman's health.

This was a matter that Whitmer repeatedly grilled Dixon on before securing a second term in the Michigan governor's mansion. Time will tell how the GOP takes on the issue of abortion going forward.