Two conservative states — South Carolina and Nebraska — failed to pass their respective abortion bans by a single vote on Thursday, reports The Associated Press. South Carolina had proposed a near-total abortion ban while Nebraska had proposed a six-week ban. Both votes failed and abortion remains legal up to 22 weeks in both states, per The Washington Post.
In both instances, certain Republican lawmakers were responsible for preventing passage. South Carolina state Sen. Sandy Senn (R) remarked that abortion laws "have always been, each and every one of them, about control — plain and simple. And in the Senate, the males have all the control." That said, while a near-total ban failed, a proposed six-week abortion ban has already passed the state Senate.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
All in all, the results are a victory for pro-choice advocates. "This really shows that even in red states winning is still possible," Ianthe Metzger of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund told the Post. "We do know that banning abortion is unpopular." Currently, there are 14 states with total abortion bans and 8 states whose bans were blocked by courts.
-
6 homes for entertainingFeature Featuring a heated greenhouse in Pennsylvania and a glamorous oasis in California
-
Obesity drugs: Will Trump’s plan lower costs?Feature Even $149 a month, the advertised price for a starting dose of a still-in-development GLP-1 pill on TrumpRx, will be too big a burden for the many Americans ‘struggling to afford groceries’
-
The ‘Kavanaugh stop’Feature Activists say a Supreme Court ruling has given federal agents a green light to racially profile Latinos
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
‘Officials say exporters pay the tariffs, but consumers see the opposite’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
