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u.s. news Diaranson 31 augustus 2022

Abortion ban faces exceptions fight in South Carolina House

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) end a pregnancy in June.
— South Carolina House
members began a debate South Carolina leaders have
Tuesday on a new total watched those developments
ban on abortion with no carefully, as well as events
exceptions for pregnan- several weeks ago in Kansas,
cies caused by rape or in- where nearly 60% of vot-
cest even as some Repub- ers rejected a ballot measure
licans in the GOP-domi- that would have allowed the
nated chamber suggested state's conservative Legisla-
they can't vote for the bill ture to ban abortion. Repub-
as written. lican Donald Trump received
56% of the 2020 presidential
But if the exceptions are put vote in Kansas. Trump won
into the bill, the chamber's 55% in South Carolina.
most conservative members
could join with Democrats to Republican leaders in the
kill the bill, too. South Carolina House al-
lowed for the speaker to call
On the day before the debate, the special session after the
one of the most conservative leak of a draft opinion in-
House lawmakers said 20 dicating the U.S. Supreme
Republicans signed his letter Court would allow states to
saying they would not com- ban abortion. Lawmakers
mit to voting for the total started working on the total
ban with the rape and incest could come back later in the abortion." in South Carolina want ban after Roe v. Wade was
exceptions, which with the debate, but it was an indica- to follow the lead of Indi- overturned in June.
43 Democrats' votes against tion Democrats want to force South Carolina currently ana, which earlier in August
would be enough to kill the Republicans to have to vote has a six-week ban but the passed a total ban to go into The bill currently allows
bill. on an extreme form of the South Carolina Supreme effect on Sept. 15 with ex- abortions if a mother's life
legislation. Court suspended the law ceptions for rape, incest and is in danger and then lists a
Less than an hour after de- earlier this month while the if the mother's life is in dan- number of different medical
bate began, lawmakers voted Other changes voted down justices decide on a Planned ger. West Virginia's House emergencies that would fit
on changing the bill to in- early in the debate included Parenthood lawsuit that says and Senate couldn't agree on into that exception.
clude the rape and incest language supporters said the ban is an unreasonable stricter abortion rules in a
exceptions. It failed on a 75- would protect in vitro fer- invasion of privacy under the July session. The South Carolina House
25 vote, with almost all the ritization and birth control, state constitution. The deci- has 80 Republicans, 43 Dem-
House's Democrats joining and proposals that would sion leaves South Carolina's Thirteen states have so-called ocrats and one vacancy. The
more conservative Republi- make it a misdemeanor with abortion ban at 20 weeks for trigger laws designed to out- bill needs a majority vote to
cans. a maximum two-year prison now. law most abortions when the be sent to the Senate, where
sentence if a pregnant wom- U.S. Supreme Court threw stricter bans on abortions
Some form of the exceptions an "intentionally commits an Supporters of the total ban out the constitutional right to have seen tougher fights.

Prosecutors rest in R. Kelly’s trial-fixing, child porn case

CHICAGO (AP) — Pros- ally abusing her hundreds of a judge sentenced him in was the child in the video and
ecutors rested their case times starting in 1998 when June to 30 years in prison for Kelly was the adult man. Two Kelly associates, Derrel
Tuesday at R. Kelly's fed- she was 14 and Kelly was convictions on racketeering McDavid and Milton Brown,
eral trial in Chicago after around 30. and sex trafficking charges. A Kelly sold millions of albums are co-defendants at the Chi-
presenting two weeks of conviction in Chicago could even after allegations about cago trial. McDavid, a long-
evidence and testimony Jane's testimony is vital to add years to that sentence. his abuse of young girls be- time Kelly business manager,
from four Kelly accusers the charge accusing Kelly gan circulating publicly in is accused of helping Kelly
in their bid to prove the of fixing his 2008 child por- Kelly's 2008 state trial re- the 1990s. Widespread out- rig the 2008 case. Brown is
singer enticed underage nography trial, at which he volved around a video prose- rage over his sexual miscon- charged with receiving child
girls for sex, produced was acquitted. She testified cutors said showed him sexu- duct didn't emerge until after pornography. Like Kelly, they
child pornography and that Kelly and his associ- ally abusing Jane. She did not the #MeToo reckoning and have denied wrongdoing.
successfully rigged his ates threatened and paid off testify at that trial, but told the 2019 docuseries "Surviv-
2008 state trial. her and her parents to lie to jurors this month that she ing R. Kelly."
a grand jury before the 2008
Among the last prosecution trial.
witnesses was a 42-year-old
woman who went by the Legal teams for Kelly and two
pseudonym "Nia." Taking the co-defendants now get their
stand Tuesday morning, she chance to attack the govern-
was the fourth and final ac- ment's case. U.S. District
cuser to testify against Kelly Judge Harry Leinenweber
at the trial in his hometown. told jurors they would have
A fifth accuser, who prosecu- Wednesday off, then return
tors had said would testify, to listen to the first defense
never did. They didn't ex- witnesses Thursday. Closing
plain why. arguments are in the middle
of next week.
The highlight of prosecu-
tors' case was testimony by Defense attorneys haven't
a 37-year-old woman who said if Kelly might testify. He
used the pseudonym "Jane" didn't testify at his earlier fed-
and described Kelly sexu- eral trial in New York, where