Some abortions now have to be reported to sheriffs. Here’s how they plan to respond

Local sheriff’s departments say a victim’s willingness to cooperate would play a key role in how the agencies respond to a provision in South Carolina’s new abortion law.

The new law requires that physicians conducting an abortion provide to the local sheriff the name and contact information of any patient who is the victim of rape and incest. The law also requires that physicians inform the patient prior to the procedure that the information will be shared.

The sheriff’s departments in Richland and Lexington counties provided different perspectives on how heavily they would weigh the victim’s wishes.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said it had no specific policy on reports of rape or incest that lead to abortions.

“As with any report we get, we would vet it, then potentially follow up on it if there’s information to follow up on,” the department said in a statement provided to The State. “If the woman doesn’t want to follow up or have it investigated, then we would go no further than that.”

Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon emphasized his office intended to pursue cases as far as possible within the letter of the law, while acknowledging that the interest and cooperation of the victim involved was a factor.

“We fully intend to enforce it as written,” said Koon. “We will follow up on those notifications just as we would any information received from other mandatory reporters.”

The law requires that physicians performing abortions report to the sheriff of the county where it was performed — currently there are only three abortion clinics in South Carolina, including one in Richland County. While Lexington County does not have an abortion clinic, hospitals in South Carolina can still perform abortions when the life of the mother is in danger or in cases of rape or incest, according to the new law.

Richland County’s statement echoed one issued July 1 by Charleston County Sheriff Kristi Graziano, who pledged that her department would respect the wishes of the victim.

“While these providers are now mandated by law to send us these reports regardless of the will of their patients, we will not contact the patient if she doesn’t want us to,” Graziano said. “We will offer our support and investigative services only if they request it.”

The South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association has yet to take a position on the new law, said Jarrod Bruder, the association’s director. But the issue will be discussed at next week’s annual sheriffs’ association meeting.

In South Carolina, health care workers are obligated to disclose suspected abuse of a child or vulnerable adult as well as gunshot wounds to law enforcement and social services agencies.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which operates two clinics in the state, opposes the new reporting requirement.

“We do not believe that this is an appropriate step for physicians to take,” Vicki Ringer, the director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said in a statement to The State.

“The conditional nature of the reporting is unlike other reporting requirements designed to protect vulnerable people, including children,” said Ringer. “[It] is instead clearly designed to discourage survivors from having abortions.”

South Carolina’s six-week abortion ban — referred to as the “fetal heartbeat” law — was passed by the Legislature last year. It bans abortions around six weeks, with limited exceptions for the life of the mother and in cases of rape or incest. The law went into effect when a lower court’s injunction was lifted following the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. However, the General Assembly is expected to further tighten the new abortion law this year.