A bill up for consideration in South Carolina’s GOP-dominant state legislature would ban abortion outright and implement major restrictions on contraceptives.

South Carolina already has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning the procedure after a supposed embryonic “heartbeat” is detected , usually after around six weeks of pregnancy. The law allows abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy if a person’s life is endangered by their pregnancy, or in cases of rape and incest — but the vague language of such statues often makes them difficult for providers to abide by.

The new proposal, sponsored by Sen. Richard Cash, would essentially equate abortion with homicide . It eliminates exceptions for rape and incest entirely, leaving only the narrow life-of-the-pregn

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