Attorney General Alan Wilson announces federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals removes injunction blocking Fetal Heartbeat law

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announces that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has permanently lifted a federal injunction on the state’s Fetal Heartbeat Act.

“This is a victory for life,” Attorney General Wilson said.

The Court wrote that, after considering the Attorney General’s motion after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, “…the court vacates its previous opinion in this case, vacates the district court’s preliminary injunction, and remands the case to the district court.”

There is still a legal challenge to the new law at the state level, but there are no court injunctions blocking the law.

You can read the order here.

In layman's terms: When the Fetal Heartbeat Act was signed into law in 2021, the Court blocked it with an injunction because it went against Roe v. Wade. When Roe was overturned, a federal district court stayed that injunction, or removed the “block,” which meant the law went into effect. But a “stay” is temporary. Today, the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted that injunction permanently. So first the law was blocked, then it was temporarily unblocked, and now it’s permanently unblocked.