Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. Wilson arguing that South Carolina’s pre-viability abortion restrictions harm women’s health care as a whole and a lower court’s ruling blocking the law should be upheld. Additionally, the coalition also argues that the collective impact of numerous states across the country enacting restrictive abortion laws, or eliminating access to abortions, harms health care nationwide.

“Like Texas, South Carolina has directly attacked the constitutional reproductive rights of its residents, who must be allowed to access safe and legal abortions,” said AG Ford. “Women must be allowed to make their own decisions when it comes to their health care and bodily autonomy. Our office will not sit on the sidelines and watch as these shameful attacks on necessary health care continue.”

In February 2021, South Carolina passed the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act that prohibits abortions upon the detection of an embryonic cardiac activity, effectively banning abortion after six weeks. Immediately following the passage of the Act, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic filed suit seeking a temporary injunction, which the federal district court granted.

In their amicus brief, the coalition argues that access to safe and legal abortion is an essential component of women’s health care and restrictive abortion laws, like the South Carolina law, lead to worse health outcomes for women. The coalition also argues that laws banning abortion after the detection of a fetal cardiac activity have harmful spillover effects on miscarriage treatment and other health care needs.

Additionally, AG Ford and his colleagues argue that the restrictions the Act places on women could also threaten residents of neighboring states as well as those states’ health care systems, explaining, “South Carolina’s restrictive abortion laws will cause its citizens to seek abortion care in [neighboring states], potentially straining their health care systems.” The coalition further says, “[g]iven that numerous states across the country have enacted similarly restrictive or more restrictive legislation than South Carolina’s Act…[and] [i]f access to safe and lawful abortions were banned in large geographic portions of the country, it would create vast “abortion deserts” in which access to abortion care may be unobtainable for many people due to the obstacles created by the sheer distance from lawful abortion care.”

In addition to Nevada, other states joining the amicus brief include: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

The amicus brief is attached.