North Carolina faces 12-week abortion ban
New veto-proof bill passed with irregular speed
North Carolina abortion rights activists have mounted an intense campaign against the state legislature’s attempt to pass a 12-week abortion ban this week.
Democratic Governor Roy Cooper has pledged to veto any bill that came to his desk, but the state legislature has enough votes to override it. Right now, activists have sought to pressure other lawmakers to change their vote so that it doesn’t pass once it comes back to the general assembly.
Tara Romano, executive director of the Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation, said a lot of people are misleading others by saying this isn’t an abortion ban. The bill includes a 12-week mark for banning aspiration abortion and a 10-week ban for medication abortion. If a person opts for abortion pills, then they have to visit the clinic three times.
“These are medically unnecessary restrictions,” Romano said. “And these are the kind of restrictions that in other states have caused chaos in terms of reproductive health care in general.”
On May 2, the bill arrived in an irregular fashion. Republicans described it first as a conference report. They had worked on it secretively. There weren’t any substantive committee hearings and no amendments. Two days later it had passed the legislature.
Medical providers expect to see an increase in wait times. North Carolina had been a sanctuary state for abortion seekers from around the South where the procedure and treatment had been banned altogether.
While the state has a Democratic governor and appears to be pro-choice, the state legislature has been gerrymandered as severely as it has in other parts of the country. That has permitted Republicans to push this agenda and to thwart any that Gov. Cooper has. There may be some more redistricting later this summer.
“They are looking to potentially further increase restrictions,” Romano said. “So we know that this just doesn’t end here. That's where we're working hard to make sure people are lifting up their voices and talking to their elected officials about this.”