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<p><strong>From staff reports</strong></p>
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<p>South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson petitioned the South Carolina Supreme Court on Monday, Jan. 30, asking it to rehear its ruling on the state's Fetal Heartbeat law.</p>
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<p>"Today, we filed in the South Carolina Supreme Court our petition to rehear the Fetal Heartbeat Law ruling. We respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision and believe the intent of the South Carolina Constitution is clear. The framers of our privacy provision did not conceive this provision as creating a right to abortion."</p>
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<p>The South Carolina Supreme Court on January 5 held that the Fetal Heartbeat Act was unconstitutional, ruling the law violates a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, as guaranteed by the South Carolina Constitution.</p>
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<p>The Court ruled that the S.C. constitutional right to privacy includes a woman's decision to have an abortion. The Court said the State “has the authority to limit the right of privacy that protects women from state interference with her decision,” but any limitation must be reasonable and meaningful in relation to the time frames imposed.</p>
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