COLUMBIA — A Statehouse bill that would criminalize abortion – dividing even the state’s most staunch anti-abortion factions — failed to pass out of committee Nov. 18, signaling a rare win for opposition Democrats in the Legislature.

The contentious Senate Bill 323 was debated by state senators for over three hours but failed to move forward on a 3-2 negative vote, with four Republicans on the panel abstaining.

The three hours of back and forth on multiple amendments shed light on the divisions among GOP lawmakers, some of whom said criminalizing the procedure or doing away with exemptions for rape and incest would be going too far.

“Clearly there’s some division about whether this bill really has enough votes to move forward,” Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said after the committee vot

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