Growing Number of States Strike Back at Roe v. Wade

More than 40 years after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion, states are fighting back with tough new legislation.

The latest to take a pro-life stance is South Carolina. That state's legislature passed a bill Tuesday that bans abortions after 19 weeks. Sixteen states have enacted similar late-term abortion bans.

And the penalties are stiff for those who don't comply. Under the South Carolina measure, any doctor who performs an abortion after 19 weeks of pregnancy will face up to three years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

Rep. Wendy Nanney, R-Greenville, who sponsored the bill, hopes it will be the start of efforts to ban abortion in the state.

"I firmly believe life begins at conception and anything we can do to protect human life I'm all for," she said.

The bill passed by a vote of 79-29 in the state House and by 36-9 in the Senate.

Gov. Nikki Haley, R-SC, said she will almost certainly sign the bill into law after careful review.

In Alabama last week, Republican Gov. Robert Bentley gave the pro-life movement another victory when he signed a bill that bans an abortion procedure which requires the unborn child to be dismembered in the womb before it is removed.

"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful for any individual to purposely perform or attempt to perform a dismemberment abortion and thereby kill an unborn child unless necessary to prevent serious health risk to the unborn child's mother," reads Senate Bill 363, also known as the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act.

Alabama became the fifth state to ban dismemberment abortions, joining Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

"Gov. Robert Bentley is to be commended for his action in signing into law the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, which will prohibit this barbaric inhumanity in our state," Alabama Citizens for Life National Director Cheryl Ciamarra said in a statement.

The bill required strong support from both legislative chambers, and like South Carolina, the numbers were lopsided. The Senate approved it in a vote of 30-2, while the House of Representatives approved it 74-26.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the states of Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri and Nebraska are reviewing similar legislation, with Louisiana's House of Representatives unanimously passing a bill in late April.

"Louisiana has a long history of protecting the most vulnerable members of our society - unborn children," wrote Rep. Mike Johnson, R-District 8, who introduced Louisiana's HB 1081. "HB 1081 will further advance that cherished tradition." 

In March, Indiana became the second state to pass a law that protects babies with fetal genetic abnormalities from abortion, including unborn babies with Down syndrome. North Dakota is the other.

Gov. Mike Pence, R-IN, signed the bill into law, calling it "a measure that affirms the value of all human life."

In addition to banning abortions for genetic defects, the law also prohibits abortions based on the child's race, sex or ancestry.

"I believe that a society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable - the aged, the infirm, the disabled, and the unborn," Pence said in a statement.

Under the law, doctors who perform forbidden abortions could be sued for wrongful death or be admonished by the state medical licensing board.

"By signing the Dignity for the Unborn bill, Gov. Pence has again signified his commitment to protecting life," Mike Fichter, president of Indiana Right to Life, said in a statement. "We are pleased that our state values life no matter an individual's potential disability, gender or race."

Indiana is one of eight states that ban abortions based on sex. Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Dakota prohibit the procedure as well. 

According to the Guttmacher Institute, at least eight other states are following suit by recently introducing bills that would ban sex-selective abortions.

At least six may prohibit abortions because of fetal abnormalities. 

According to The Atlantic, Indiana is the only state that has passed a ban against race-selective abortions. However, a new Illinois bill addresses it as well.