COLUMBIA, S.C. -Supporters say it's hard to defend abortion rights in South Carolina because they are harassed and threatened as the Legislature makes it more difficult to get an abortion.

"So many of us are afraid. When you get death threats for stating your opinion, it's a little scary," said Cookie Washington, the state director for the National Organization of Women.

Abortion rights supporters in South Carolina suffered a blow Monday when the Supreme Court turned down an appeal over new regulations on abortion providers.

A Greenville abortion clinic had sued to overturn state regulations that allow health officials greater access to medical records of women seeking abortions.

Opponents said the state did not do enough to guarantee that patient records would stay confidential.

"I think it represents a pretty serious blow in that it poses a threat to women's confidentiality and confidentiality is really essential to the right to choose," said Bonnie Scott Jones, a lawyer for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented the Greenville Women's Clinic.

Supporters of the regulations, which include state Attorney General Henry McMaster, said they are reasonable health and safety measures that don't infringe on constitutional rights.

Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, which tracks violence against abortion providers, said the new regulations are a form of intimidation for women seeking abortions in South Carolina.

"We're very concerned that by requiring public disclosure of abortion patients, personally identifying information that women's access to reproductive health care will be compromised," Saporta said.

"There have been any number of laws that have been passed that we don't agree with and wish had not been enacted," Saporta said, referring to at least one law allowing the state to charge pregnant women who have substance abuse problems with child abuse.

At a Charleston abortion clinic "there are always a bunch of pro-lifers standing out there harassing people on the weekends, screaming things," Washington said. "NOW members are at the women's clinic ... every weekend making sure that women have safe entry for whatever procedure they need."

Washington said she hadn't been threatened in a while, but she fears recent attention to the abortion issue could renew the threats.

"We actually believe that both abortion providers and patients are at increased risk of harassment and violence as a result of this law being passed," Saporta said.

Columbia attorney Ken Wingate, a member of a group that is spending $50,000 to run television ads in Columbia encouraging women to not get abortions, said he has always been in favor of the regulations. But he doesn't agree with intimidating abortion opponents.

"The tactics of fear and harassment run counter to successfully communicating that message," Wingate said.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control released a statement late Tuesday saying it was pleased the federal courts have upheld the regulations.

"The department is aware of the sensitivity of information held by clinics and is committed to maintaining the confidentiality of clinic records," DHEC said. "The department will resume inspections of abortion clinics within the next 60 days."