South Carolina Code 44-41-30. Persons from whom consent is required
(B) In the case of a woman who is under adjudication of mental incompetency by a court of competent jurisdiction, consent must be obtained from her spouse or a legal guardian if she is married; if she is not married, from one parent or a legal guardian.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-41-30
- Abortion: means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child. See South Carolina Code 44-41-10
- Consent: means a signed and witnessed voluntary agreement to the performance of an abortion. See South Carolina Code 44-41-10
- Department: means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 44-41-10
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Minor: means a female under the age of seventeen. See South Carolina Code 44-41-10
- Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine in this State. See South Carolina Code 44-41-10
- Pregnant: means the human biological female reproductive condition of having a living unborn child within her body, whether or not she has reached the age of majority. See South Carolina Code 44-41-10
(C) Notwithstanding the consent required in subsections (A) and (B) consent must be waived if:
(1) a physician determines that a medical emergency exists involving the life of or grave physical injury to the pregnant woman; or
(2) the pregnancy is the result of incest.
(D) In cases of incest the physician performing the abortion shall report the alleged incest to the local county department of social services or to a law enforcement agency in the county where the child resides or is found. Failure to report is a violation punishable under the child abuse laws of this State.
(E) Nothing in this section permits a physician to perform an abortion without first obtaining the consent of the pregnant woman if she is capable of giving consent.