(PatriotWise.com) — The number of abortions being performed in South Carolina has plummeted following the statewide implementation of new restrictions on the procedure. A nonprofit that monitors traffic in and out of a Columbia Planned Parenthood reports that 70 percent fewer children are being killed in the wake of the legislation.
In May 2023, fresh protections for the unborn were penned into law by the state’s Governor. The legislation dictated that once a heartbeat is detected, abortion providers are no longer able to legally perform the procedure. Exceptions for rape, incest, medical emergencies, and fetal anomalies exist for the first twelve weeks of a pregnancy.
A provider-led challenge to the new law led to a temporary block being imposed on the bill. That block was struck down after the state’s Supreme Court upheld the legislation. In effect, the law makes terminating a pregnancy illegal after six weeks. One and a half months is the typical threshold at which a baby’s heartbeat can first be detected.
Mark Baumgartner, who leads a sidewalk ministry that operates outside Columbia’s Planned Parenthood, said that his workers generally see about twenty mothers enter the clinic for abortions each day. He said that after the law went into effect, the number dropped to about six.
He further said that of those who still enter the clinic, many are now forced to leave the facility without the procedure being performed due to a heartbeat being detected. Baumgartner’s ministry has a nearby RV with ultrasound equipment that they offer to the prospective mothers. On the day in question, he said one of the potential abortion candidates chose to keep her child after viewing the ultrasound.
Lower abortion numbers in places like South Carolina are contending with higher numbers elsewhere. Abortion-tourism industries are appearing in states like Illinois. One report said that the state has seen a 700 percent increase in the procedure since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
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