Attorney General Wilson, 19-State Coalition Files Brief to Protect Unborn Children

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — Sept. 5, 2019 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joined a 19-state effort in defending the right of states to prohibit abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, a crucial argument to protect the lives of unborn children and safeguard similar laws across the nation.

“The very first, most fundamental right is the right to life and I’ve always been committed to protecting that,” said Attorney General Wilson. “This is also an issue of protecting the ability of states to pass laws that their citizens want without interference from the federal government.”

The coalition’s brief leans upon a growing scientific consensus that a fetus is capable of experiencing pain at the 20-week threshold, if not before.

The Supreme Court has long recognized that states have valid interests in regulating abortion upon the grounds of women’s health and protecting the dignity of human life.

The brief, filed Tuesday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, supports the constitutionality of North Carolina’s 20-week ban as applied to abortions both before and after the point of viability.

The brief also challenges the plaintiff’s ability to have brought the initial lawsuit.

Any decision regarding the North Carolina case could affect not only North Carolina’s law, but also similar laws across the circuit court’s jurisdiction, which also covers Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

South Carolina joined the West Virginia-led brief with Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.

Read a copy of the brief here.