Pro-life officials on Friday celebrated a South Carolina judge’s denial of a Planned Parenthood motion to weaken the state’s six-week abortion ban.

A state judge in Columbia ruled against the reproductive health care organization’s demand for a preliminary injunction that would slacken South Carolina’s six-week abortion restriction to nine weeks, according to The State newspaper.

While Planned Parenthood could reportedly appeal Fifth Circuit Judge Daniel Coble’s decision, proponents of the 2023 law expressed confidence the Palmetto State will remain a safe haven for the unborn.

“South Carolina’s heartbeat law secured another legal victory yesterday, with the trial court denying Planned Parenthood’s preliminary injunction,” Brandon Charochak, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, told Fox News Digital.

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“Life will continue to be protected in South Carolina, and the governor will continue his fight to protect it,” he said.

The state law defines a “fetal heartbeat” as “cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac,” according to the Charleston Post & Courier. Coble wrote in his Thursday decision that the state legislature clearly intended a six-week time frame in that regard.

In its filing, Planned Parenthood reportedly argued that since the new law was enacted, 75% of women who sought abortions were denied the procedure because of the time constraint. The organization also alleged almost 7/8 of those patients could have undergone an abortion if they were permitted at the nine-week mark.

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South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signs into law a bill banning almost all abortions in the state on Feb. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Critics also argued that many women do not know they are pregnant yet at six weeks.

The State of South Carolina, however, testified that an unborn baby’s heart is beating “steadily, repetitively and rhythmically” six weeks in, even if the organ is not fully formed yet.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Planned Parenthood-South Atlantic president and CEO Jenny Black expressed disappointment in Coble’s decision.

“Given the impact of this case on thousands of patients across South Carolina who have been unfairly denied abortion care, we will continue to demand that the courts apply the law as written. This fight is not over,” Black said.

“Our highest priority is giving our patients the care they need — no matter what. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic remains committed to helping every patient navigate the unjust and inhumane confines of South Carolina’s abortion ban.”

The heartbeat law had not been without its past legal impediments. In 2023, the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down a preceding six-week ban, citing right-to-privacy concerns.

It later upheld a second attempt at a six-week prohibition that was drafted a few months after the original denial.

At the time, the Center for Reproductive Rights argued in a statement that the only situational change was the retirement and replacement of a female justice who led the majority opinion striking down the prior law.

The new law does contain exceptions for the life and health of the mother, as well as in cases of rape or incest, so long as those are reported to law enforcement within 12 weeks.

The state only has three listed abortion providers, all in its major cities: Greenville, Columbia and Charleston. 

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg released statements Friday after a pedestrian was killed and Scottie Scheffler was arrested before the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Course.

Beshear said he was praying for the victim of the crash that took place before Scheffler’s arrest.

“This morning an incident occurred outside the PGA Championship that resulted in the heartbreaking death of a fellow Kentuckian. Our hearts are broken, and we continue to pray for the victim’s family,” Beshear wrote on X. 

“The events that occurred afterward are the unfortunate result of this tragic incident, and we are hopeful that all parties involved can come to a resolution.”

Greenberg identified the victim as John Mills and sent his condolences to his family. He also remarked on the “unfortunate” incident that took place involving Scheffler and Louisville Metro Police.

“This morning, our city experienced a tragic accident that took the life of John Mills, a Louisvillian who will be greatly missed by his family and our community,” he said. “Our focus is on this family who lost their loved one. I have spoke with members of Mr. Mills’ family to convey our city’s condolences.

“Following this tragedy, LMPD stopped traffic to assist with its investigation into the fatal accident. It is unfortunate that an incident took place between an LMPD officer and Mr. Scheffler while he was attempting to enter Valhalla. LMPD is investigating this incident, and the legal process will proceed. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation.

“We remain focused on the tragic loss of life and will share more information on both of these matters as available.”

The morning at Valhalla Golf Course started when a pedestrian was struck by a shuttle bus while crossing a road in a lane dedicated to tournament traffic and was pronounced dead at the accident site around 5:09 a.m. The PGA of America said the victim was a worker with one of its vendors.

Scottie Scheffler of the United States and his caddie, Ted Scott, walk to the 14th tee during the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club May 17, 2024, in Louisville. (Maddie Meyer/PGA of America via Getty Images)

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“This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club,” the PGA of America said. “This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”

Scheffler then drove past a police officer shortly after 6 a.m. in his SUV with markings on the door indicating it was a PGA Championship vehicle, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington. The officer screamed at him to stop and then attached himself to the car until Scheffler stopped his vehicle about 10 yards later. Darlington characterized it as a “misunderstanding with traffic flow.”

“Scheffler was then walked over to the police car, placed in the back, in handcuffs, very stunned about what was happening, looked toward me as he was in those handcuffs and said, ‘Please help me,’” Darlington said on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” “He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation. It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively.”

Scheffler was booked into the Louisville Department of Corrections later Friday. He was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer (a felony), criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

In this still image from video provided by ESPN, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is escorted by police after being handcuffed near Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship, early Friday, May 17, 2024. (ESPN via AP)

A police report said a detective was knocked down after Scheffler refused “to comply and accelerated forward.” The detective was allegedly dragged to the ground and suffered injuries to his wrist and knee. 

“The main thing is he was proceeding exactly as he was directed in a marked vehicle with credentials,” Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, said in a statement. “He didn’t do anything intentionally wrong.”

Scheffler made it back for his second-round tee times.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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West Virginia high school track athlete Adaleia Cross is joining a national Title IX lawsuit after alleging a transgender 13-year-old teammate sexually harassed her during practices and in the school’s locker room.

B.P.J., which is how court documents refer to the transgender athlete at the center of the allegations and another West Virginia lawsuit, allegedly made “several offensive and inappropriate sexual comments” to Cross throughout the school shot put season. The interactions allegedly escalated to more “aggressive, vile, and disturbing” comments during Cross’s final year of middle school. B.P.J is a biological male who identifies as a female.

“During the end of that year, about two to three times per week, B.P.J. would look at me” and make a sexually explicit vulgar comment, Cross alleged in the lawsuit filed May 8. “There were usually other girls around who heard this. I heard B.P.J. say the same thing to my other teammates, too.”

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Cross alleged additional “vulgar comments” caused deep distress and affected her ability to continue to participate in track and field.

“B.P.J. made other more explicit sexual statements that felt threatening to me. At times, B.P.J.” would make remarks suggesting a desire to carry out sexual assault, according to the lawsuit.

“I felt confused and disgusted when I heard these vulgar and aggressive comments,” Cross alleged. “It was especially confusing because I was told that B.P.J. was on the girls’ team because B.P.J. identifies as a girl, but the girls on the team never talked like that.”

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Cross then alleged she would report the comments to her school’s administrators, but “B.P.J. got very little or no punishment for saying things that no other student would get away with.”

Even though Cross, who is 15 years old, started high school last fall, she still interacts with B.P.J. because the middle and high school share the same track and overlapping practice times. This fall, B.P.J. will enter high school, and Cross said she “dreads being on the same sports team again.”

“I am reluctant to keep competing on a team that exposes me to these inappropriate comments. I’m also reluctant to continue in track and field if I have to compete against boys. I’m unable to fully enjoy sports in this environment,” Cross said.

Earlier this month, five West Virginia middle school girls were banned from participating in track and field meets after they protested against B.P.J. and the court’s refusal to enforce the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act.” (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)

Cross noted that B.P.J.’s athletic performance steadily advanced throughout middle school. In 2023, B.P.J. outperformed Cross and secured a spot in the Mid Mountain 10 Middle School Championships, a track meet in which only the top three athletes from each team can compete. B.P.J. qualified for the meet, knocking Cross out of one of the top three positions. 

“If I complained, I would be unfairly labeled as ‘transphobic,’ even though that is not true. It felt unfair. I felt like I had to suck it up and live with it. I felt unheard and unseen,” Cross said in the lawsuit.

B.P.J. is now connected to the legal proceedings of State of Tennessee v. Cardona, filed in the Northern District of Kentucky. West Virginia was part of the original group of six states filing as plaintiffs in the case against Biden’s Title IX revisions.

In April, new regulations for Title IX were ushered in by President Biden’s Department of Education that would protect gender identity from discrimination, while rolling back Trump-era rules that bolstered the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct. 

Adaleia Cross (middle) at the Harrison County Middle School Championships at Liberty High School’s Mazzei Reaser Athletic Complex in Clarksburg, W.Va., April 12, 2023.  (Alliance Defending Freedom)

Heritage Foundation legal fellow Sarah Marshall Perry told Fox News Digital in an interview Cross’s lawsuit expands the number of individuals, organizations and states challenging Title IX. 

“We know it hasn’t even been published officially in the Federal Register, and yet it’s already raised the ire of more than 17 school districts, one school board, seven organizations, two individual plaintiffs and 26 states, and is some of the most significant federal litigation in terms of depth and swiftness of filing that I have ever seen in my two and a half decades of legal practice,” Perry said.

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Moms for Liberty and other parent groups blasted President Biden’s overhaul of Title IX, arguing it gutted parents’ rights and put children in harm’s way. (Getty Images)

“It is not only unconstitutional, it’s a violation of administrative law and the Civil Rights law that we are seeing claims based on everything from a violation of the First Amendment to sexual harassment, as is Cross’s claim, to violation of religious liberty to violation of the Administrative Procedure Act,” Perry continued.

“So, it is an encouraging development, and I don’t believe it will be the last two that we see here in the middle of May.”

Earlier this month, five West Virginia middle school girls were banned from participating in track and field meets after they protested against B.P.J. and the court’s refusal to enforce the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act.” But they were given the ability to compete again after Judge Thomas A. Bedell issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Harrison Board of Education and its schools from penalizing student-athletes for their speech. 

The school board denied allegations of retaliation against the students and instead asserted the students were allowed to protest without hindrance and with full awareness and permission from coaches and the principal.

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.