(B) A physician may perform, induce, or attempt to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman after a fetal heartbeat has been detected in only if:
(1) The pregnancy is the result of rape, and the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is fewer than twenty weeks;
(2) The pregnancy is the result of incest, and the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is fewer than twenty weeks;
(3) The physician is acting in accordance with Section 4.
(4) There exists a fetal anomaly, as defined in Section 4.
(C) A physician who performs or induces an abortion on a pregnant woman based on the Exceptions articulated in Section 4 must report the allegation of rape or incest to the sheriff in the county in which the abortion was performed. The report must be made no later than twenty-four hours after performing or inducing the abortion, may be made orally or otherwise, and shall include the name and contact information of the pregnant woman making the allegation. Prior to performing or inducing an abortion, a physician who performs or induces an abortion based upon an allegation of rape or incest must notify the pregnant woman that the physician will report the allegation of rape or incest to the sheriff. The physician shall make written notations in the pregnant woman's medical records that the abortion was performed pursuant to the applicable exception, that the doctor timely notified the sheriff of the allegation of rape or incest, and that the woman was notified prior to the abortion that the physician would notify the sheriff of the allegation of rape or incest.
(D) A physician or other person who violates subsection (A) above is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined ten thousand dollars, imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
(E) Subsection (D) above does not apply to a physician who performs a medical procedure that, by any reasonable medical judgment, is designed or intended to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent the serious risk of a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.
(F) A physician who performs such a medical procedure as described above in subsection (E) shall declare, in a written document, that the medical procedure was necessary, by reasonable medical judgment, to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent the serious risk of a 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 was asserted to address and the medical rationale for the physician's conclusion that the medical procedure was necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent the serious risk of a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.
(F) A physician who performs such a medical procedure as described in subsection (E) shall place the written document required by subsection (F) 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 his own records.
(G) A physician will not be in violation of Subsection (A) if the physician acts in accordance with the aforementioned requirements and the method used to test for the presence of a fetal heartbeat does not reveal a fetal heartbeat.
SECTION 6. ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION SHALL BE PROVIDED.
A woman or underage female who is pregnant and does not want to continue with the pregnancy (ie, seeks to have an abortion) shall be provided with information to offer her possible alternatives to abortion, including but not limited to: adoption (closed or open), direct placement adoption, agency adoption, Christian adoption, asking the father to take legal rights to the baby, legal guardianship, religious counseling, peer counseling, and counseling from a pregnancy center.
SECTION 7. LIMITATIONS OF THIS BILL.
(A) Nothing in this article prohibits the sale, use, prescription, or administration of a drug, device, or chemical that is designed for contraceptive purposes.
(B) A pregnant woman on whom an abortion is performed or induced in violation of this article may not be criminally prosecuted for violating any of the provisions of this article or for attempting to commit, conspiring to commit, or acting complicitly in committing a violation of any of the provisions of the article and is not subject to a civil or criminal penalty based on the abortion being performed or induced in violation of any of the provisions of this article.
SECTION 8. WHO MAY BRING A CAUSE OF ACTION.
(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 abortion was performed or induced in violation of this article; or
(2) A woman on whom an abortion was performed or induced who was not given the information as required in Section 4.
(B) A woman who prevails in an action filed pursuant to subsection (A) shall receive the following from the person or party which has been named as committing the act or acts
(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, then 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 9. ENFORCEMENT.
A) A court judgment or order suspending enforcement of any provision of this chapter is not to be regarded as tantamount to repeal of that provision.
(B) If the United States Supreme Court finds in favor of the State of Mississippi in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org. case (2021-22) and revisits the wisdom and utility of the bright-line
"viability rule," if it should otherwise issue a ruling overruling Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), if any other court issues an order or judgment restoring, expanding, or clarifying the authority of states to prohibit or regulate abortion entirely or in part, or should an amendment be ratified to the Constitution of the United States restoring, expanding, or clarifying the authority of states to prohibit or regulate abortion entirely or in part, then the Attorney General may apply to the pertinent state or federal court for either or both of the following:
(1) A declaration that any one or more of the statutory provisions specified in subsection (A) are constitutional; or
(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 relief pursuant to subsection (B) within a thirty-day period after an event described in that subsection occurs, then any solicitor may apply to the appropriate state or federal court for such relief.
References:
"South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act" -
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess124_2021-2022/bills/1.htm
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org, petition to the Supreme Court to be granted a Writ of Certiorari - chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.supremecourt.gov%2FDocketPDF%2F19%2F19-1392%2F145658%2F20200615170733513_FINAL%2520Petition.pdf&clen=32278337&chunk=true
A PREGNANT WOMAN'S RIGHT TO KNOW ACT
(A) A pregnant woman seeking an abortion must be informed by the physician who is to perform the abortion (or by an allied health professional working in conjunction with the physician):
(1) Of the exact nature of the procedure to be involved;
(2) If there is a fetal heartbeat (and he/she must let the pregnant woman hear it, unless she refuses to hear it); and
(3) Of the probable gestational age of the embryo or fetus at the time the abortion is to be performed.
(B) If an ultrasound is performed, an abortion may not be performed sooner than sixty minutes following completion of the ultrasound. The physician who is to perform the abortion or an allied health professional working in conjunction with the physician must inform the woman before the ultrasound procedure of her right to view the ultrasound image at her request during or after the ultrasound procedure.
(C) If the physician who intends to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman has determined pursuant to Section (A)(2) above that the human fetus the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable fetal heartbeat, then that physician shall inform the pregnant woman in writing that the human fetus the pregnant woman is carrying has a fetal heartbeat.
(D) The physician shall further inform the pregnant woman, to the best of the physician's knowledge, of the statistical probability, absent an induced abortion, of bringing the human fetus possessing a detectable fetal heartbeat to term based on the gestational age of the human fetus or, if the director of the department has specified statistical probability information, shall provide to the pregnant woman that information. The department may promulgate regulations that specify information regarding the statistical probability of bringing an unborn child possessing a detectable fetal heartbeat to term based on the gestational age of the unborn child. Any regulations must be based on available medical evidence.
(E) A woman or under-age female seeking an abortionshall be provided with information to offer her possible alternatives to abortion, including but not limited to: adoption (closed or open), direct placement adoption, agency adoption, Christian adoption, asking the father to take legal rights to the baby, legal guardianship, religious counseling, peer counseling, and counseling from a pregnancy center.
(F) If the reason for the abortion was other than to preserve the health of the pregnant woman, then the physician who is to perform the abortion must fill out a report specifying that maternal health was not the purpose of the abortion. This information must also be placed in the pregnant woman's medical records and maintained for at least seven years thereafter.
