2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 44 - Health › Chapter 41 - Abortions › Section 44-41-330. Conditions for performance; information requirements; waiting period; minors or mentally incompetent persons; retention of records.

(A) Except in the case of a medical emergency and in addition to any other consent required by the laws of this State, no abortion may be performed or induced without the voluntary and informed written consent of the pregnant woman and unless the following conditions have been satisfied:
(1)(a) While physically present in the same room, the woman must be informed by the physician who is to perform the abortion, an allied health professional working in conjunction with the physician, or the referring physician of the procedure to be involved, including:
(i) the nature and risks of undergoing or not undergoing the proposed procedure that a reasonable patient would consider material to making a knowing and wilful decision of whether to have an abortion;
(ii) the probable gestational age of the unborn child, verified by an ultrasound, at the time the abortion is to be performed;
(iii) the presence of the unborn child's fetal heartbeat, if present and viewable.
(b) If an ultrasound is required to be performed, an abortion may not be performed sooner than sixty minutes following completion of the ultrasound. The ultrasound must be performed by the physician who is to perform the abortion or by a person having documented evidence that he or she is a certified sonographer under South Carolina law and who is working in conjunction with the physician. 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 live ultrasound images and hear the unborn child's fetal heartbeat, if present, at her request during or after the ultrasound procedure and to have them explained to her.
(c) If the woman accepts the opportunity to view the images and hear the explanation, a physician or a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or physician assistant working in conjunction with the physician must contemporaneously review and explain the images to the woman before the woman gives informed consent to having an abortion procedure performed.
(d) The woman has a right to decline to view and hear the explanation of the live ultrasound images after she is informed of her right and offered an opportunity to view the images and hear the explanation. If the woman declines, the woman shall complete a form acknowledging that she was offered an opportunity to view and hear the explanation of the images but that she declined that opportunity. The form also must indicate that the woman's decision was not based on any undue influence from any person to discourage her from viewing the images or hearing the explanation and that she declined of her own free will.
(e) If the physician who intends to perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman has determined pursuant to Sections 44-41-620, 44-41-630, and 44-41-330(A) that the unborn child the pregnant woman is carrying has a detectable fetal heartbeat, then that physician shall inform the pregnant woman in writing that the unborn child the pregnant woman is carrying has a fetal heartbeat. 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.
(2) The woman must be presented by the physician who is to perform the abortion or by an allied health professional working in conjunction with the physician a written form containing the following statement: "You have the right to review printed materials prepared by the State of South Carolina which describe fetal development, list agencies which offer alternatives to abortion, and describe medical assistance benefits which may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care. You have the right to view your ultrasound image." This form must be signed and dated by both the physician who is to perform the procedure and the pregnant woman upon whom the procedure is to be performed.
(3) The woman must certify in writing, before the abortion, that the information described in item (1) of this subsection has been furnished her, and that she has been informed of her opportunity to review the information referred to in item (2) of this subsection.
(4) Before performing the abortion, the physician who is to perform or induce the abortion must determine that the written certification prescribed by item (3) of this subsection or the certification required by subsection (D) has been signed. This subsection does not apply in the case where an abortion is performed pursuant to a court order.
(B) Nothing herein limits the information provided by the physician who is to perform the abortion or allied health professional to the person upon whom the abortion procedure is to be performed.
(C) No abortion may be performed sooner than twenty-four hours after the woman receives the written materials and certifies this fact to the physician or the physician's agent.
(D) If the clinic or other facility where the abortion is to be performed or induced mails the printed materials described in Section 44-41-340 to the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed or induced or if the woman obtains the information at the county health department and if the woman verifies in writing, before the abortion, that the printed materials were received by her more than twenty-four hours before the abortion is scheduled to be performed or induced, that the information described in item (A)(1) has been provided to her, and that she has been informed of her opportunity to review the information referred to in item (A)(2), then the waiting period required pursuant to subsection (C) does not apply.
(E) In the event the person upon whom the abortion is to be performed or induced is an unemancipated minor, as defined in Section 44-41-10, the information described in Section 44-41-330(A)(1) and (2) must be furnished and offered respectively to a parent of the minor, a legal guardian of the minor, a grandparent of the minor, or any person who has been standing in loco parentis to the minor for a period of not less than sixty days. The parent, legal guardian, grandparent, or person who has been standing in loco parentis, as appropriate, must make the certification required by Section 44-41-330(A)(3). In the event the person upon whom the abortion is to be performed is under adjudication of mental incompetency by a court of competent jurisdiction, the information must be furnished and offered respectively to her spouse or a legal guardian if she is married; if she is not married, from one parent or a legal guardian. The spouse, legal guardian, or parent, as appropriate, must make the certification required by Section 44-41-330(A)(3). This subsection does not apply in the case of an abortion performed pursuant to a court order.
(F) A clinic or other facility must maintain, for three years after the abortion is performed or induced, the woman's written verification that the information was so provided and the printed materials were so offered. In the case of an unemancipated minor or mentally incompetent person, the clinic or other facility is required to maintain a copy of the court order or the medical records and written consent for three years after the procedure is performed.
(G) This section does not apply if a clinic or other facility where abortions are performed or induced does not have, through no fault of the clinic or facility and if the clinic or facility can demonstrate through written evidence the unavailability of the materials described in Section 44-41-340.
HISTORY: 1995 Act No. 1, Section 8; 2008 Act No. 222, Section 1, eff May 14, 2008; 2010 Act No. 268, Section 1, eff June 24, 2010; 2021 Act No. 1 (S.1), Section 5, eff February 18, 2021; 2023 Act No. 70 (S.474), Section 10, eff May 25, 2023.
Editor's Note
2021 Act No. 1, Section 1, provides as follows:
"SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 'South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act'."
2023 Act No. 70, Sections 11 and 12, provide as follows:
"SECTION 11. The Public Employee Benefit Authority and the State Health Plan shall cover prescribed contraceptives for dependents under the same terms and conditions that the Plan provides contraceptive coverage for employees and spouses. The State Health Plan shall not apply patient cost sharing provisions to covered contraceptives.
"SECTION 12. The President of the Senate, on behalf of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, on behalf of the House of Representatives have an unconditional right to intervene on behalf of their respective bodies in a state court action and may provide evidence or argument, written or oral, if a party to that court action challenges the constitutionality of this act. In a federal court action that challenges the constitutionality of this act the Legislature may seek to intervene, to file an amicus brief, or to present arguments in accordance with federal rules of procedure. Intervention by the Legislature pursuant to this provision does not limit the duty of the Attorney General to appear and prosecute legal actions or defend state agencies, officers or employees as otherwise provided. In any action in which the Legislature intervenes or participates, the Senate and the House of Representatives shall function independently from each other in the representation of their respective clients."
Effect of Amendment
2021 Act No. 1, Section 5, in (A)(1), inserted the (a) designator, and added (b).
2023 Act No. 70, Section 10, rewrote (A).