COLUMBIA, S.C. >> A South Carolina woman who traveled elsewhere for an abortion just days after reaching six weeks of pregnancy wants a court to affirm that the state’s ban on the procedure — when a “fetal heartbeat” can be detected — should not take effect until later in a pregnancy.

In a lawsuit filed in state circuit court Monday, Taylor Shelton and Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s chief medical officer Dr. Katherine Farris argued that the Republican-led state Legislature provided two different definitions of “fetal heartbeat” in its law restricting abortions. They said the correct interpretation is that the ban begins around nine weeks, and not six weeks as currently practiced.

Most GOP-led states now have laws in effect restricting access to abortion, including 14 with bans at all stages of pregnancy. Nearly every ban has been challenged in court, and judges are currently blocking enforcement of the bans in four states.

— The Associated Press