South Carolina
Check out the status of abortion care, gender-affirming health care, and many other issues that we're following.
Abortion is available through 6 weeks of pregnancy in South Carolina.
In 2023, lawmakers passed a ban on abortion in early pregnancy, impacting the availability of abortion across the state. Before your abortion, you are required to read state-mandated materials that are designed to discourage you from having an abortion. You must wait 24 hours after receiving the materials before you can have your abortion. None of this is medically necessary and only exists to serve as a barrier to care.
There are limited exceptions for the life and physical health of the pregnant person, including someone who has a diagnosis of a "life-limiting" fetal anomaly. Survivors of rape and incest can only access care until 12 weeks of pregnancy and only if their physician reports the assault — and the survivor’s name — to law enforcement. If you are under 17, your parent or guardian must grant you permission to have an abortion. If you cannot or choose not to tell a parent or guardian, you can seek a judicial bypass.
For more information, check out our resource on How to Get an Abortion in South Carolina.
How did we get here?
In May 2023, South Carolina's anti-abortion supermajority passed SB 474, banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy in nearly all circumstances.
Later that year, the all-male South Carolina Supreme Court allowed this dangerous law to go into effect, impacting the availability of abortion across the state.
Prior to the ban, abortion was already difficult to access in South Carolina, with only three abortion clinics in the state and a range of limitations on access imposed by state lawmakers. South Carolina has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, ranking among the 10 worst states for pregnancy-related deaths. Women in our state face nearly double the risk of maternal death compared to the U.S. average, and Black women in the state die from pregnancy-related causes at about 2.6 times the rate of white women.
Gender-affirming health care for trans youth is banned in South Carolina.
In 2024, House Bill 4624 went into effect, banning gender-affirming health care for anyone under 18 ⎯ including puberty blockers, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and surgery.
The Campaign for Southern Equality provides information and financial resources for those who are forced to travel out of state to receive care.
