Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on Wednesday signed into law a bill banning most abortions after 19 weeks of pregnancy unless the mother's life is at risk, a spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday.

The South Carolina legislature passed the bill last week, making it the 17th U.S. state to approve such a ban.

A signing ceremony will take place on a date to be announced later, said Haley representative Chaney Adams.

The act, proposed last year in South Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature, passed after it was stripped of exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest.

The law allows abortions at the 20-week mark if the pregnancy endangers a mother's life. It also includes a second exception if severe fatal abnormalities will mean the fetus would definitely die at full-term birth.