COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House has passed a bill banning almost all abortions in the state. The “South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act” went through on a vote of 79-35 Wednesday after a lengthy session that featured debate both for and against it. Nearly all the Democratic members of the caucus walked out of the chamber at one point in protest. The bill faces a final procedural vote Thursday that likely won’t change the outcome and then goes to the governor’s desk. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster has promised numerous times to sign it into law as soon as he gets it. The law is unlikely to go into effect, however; groups opposing the ban will likely sue immediately.
