North Carolina judge nullifies some medication abortion restrictions
State still has a 12-week ban in place as well as a required 72-hour waiting period
The abortion rights movement scored a partial victory in North Carolina as a federal judge ruled that some of the state’s restrictions on medication abortion are unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles in Greensboro issued the opinion after Amy Bryant, an abortion provider, sued the state to challenge abortion regulations that weren’t provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Doctors don’t have to prescribe abortion medication in person now as a result of Eagles’ ruling.
Eagles allowed other restrictions, including a 72-hour in-person consultation, to remain. The state may also require ultrasounds if it wishes. Eagles wrote that other restrictions on the drug mifepristone that were challenged, such as requiring an in-person consultation 72 hours in advance, an in-person examination, and an ultrasound before prescribing, are not preempted and can remain.
I spoke with Tara Romano, the executive director of Pro-Choice North Carolina, who spent last week talking with abortion providers in the state to get their sense of the ruling. Romano told me the state still has a telehealth ban due to the ruling.
“We’re kind of still considered an access state, even though our access has been severely curtailed,” Romano said. “So we all will be thinking about that as we talk to the voters about the election and what's at stake.”
Last year, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 20, which forbids abortions past 12 weeks.
“Even though 12 weeks is still very restricted access, it's still a lot more access than a lot of southeastern states around us, except for Virginia, to the north of us,” Romano said.
North Carolina doesn’t have a ballot initiative process. So, expansion of abortion access has to come through flipping its state legislature, which, as in other states, is difficult because of gerrymandering by Republicans. North Carolina does have a Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, but he can’t run again. Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is competing against Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.
“If we do get another governor, who is pro-choice, and we're able to break the supermajority, that can at least have a path towards making sure that they don't introduce any more restrictions,” Romano said.