North Carolina lawmaker introduces bill to ban abortion in most cases.
Rep. Keith Kidwell has been inflammatory on social media when discussing reproductive rights. He introduced a bill that would ban abortion with no exceptions for rape and incest.
A new bill out of North Carolina’s state house would outlaw abortions in nearly every circumstance.
HB-804, known as the Human Life Protection Act, bans abortion in every circumstance aside from those given for ectopic pregnancies or to save the life and health of the mother. The bill doesn’t have exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest. The bill makes abortion a felony and would impose a $100,000 fine on the doctor who performs it.
Rep. Keith Kidwell sponsored the Act. On his Facebook page, there are several antagonistic antiabortion posts. One asks, “Why am I pro-life?” to which the lower text in the post answers, “Because killing little boys and girls is wrong.”
North Carolina House Democratic leader Richard Reives II sent me a statement.
"This legislation would further erode the right to choose in North Carolina,” Reives said. “The already-onerous ban we have in place makes it extremely difficult for working-class women to get necessary women's health care services. This proposal would go even further and prevent victims of rape or incest from reproductive care. It is wildly out of step with North Carolinians."
In North Carolina, abortion is legal up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or life-limiting fetal anomalies or when a doctor determines a medical emergency. There is also a 72-hour waiting period between appointments for people who want to get an abortion. Previously, the first appointment could be over the phone, but now it has to be done in person.
In May 2024, 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 were 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 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn’t provide. Doctors don’t have to prescribe abortion medication in person now as a result of the 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.
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.. Its governor is Democrat Josh Stein. The new bill could be problematic as they overrode the governor’s veto when an abortion bill was passed before.