2023-05-17 02:39:00
RALEIGH, North Carolina.— Legislation banning most abortions following 12 weeks of pregnancy will become law in North Carolina following the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly successfully overrode the Democratic governor’s veto Tuesday night. evening.
The House completed the second and final part of the override vote Tuesday night following a 3-5 majority voted in favor of the override early Tuesday in the Senate. The result represents a major victory for Republican legislative leaders who needed all members of their party on board to sign the bill over Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition.
Cooper vetoed the measure over the weekend following spending the past week traveling the state to convince at least one Republican to uphold his veto.
Republicans have billed the measure as an interim change to state law, which currently bans nearly all abortions following 20 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
The vote came as abortion rights in the US faced another sea change with lawmakers considering drastically limiting abortion in both North Carolina and South Carolina, two of the few remaining southern states with relatively easy access.
Nebraska joined the two states on Tuesday to debate the restrictions on abortion that are possible since the US Supreme Court last year struck down the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, which established the right to abortion across the country.
Under another bill due for a vote Tuesday in the South Carolina House of Representatives, access to abortion would be almost completely prohibited following regarding six weeks of pregnancy, before women know they are pregnant. The South Carolina state Senate previously rejected a proposal to nearly ban abortions.
Abortion and women’s rights in the US
Nationwide, bans on abortion during pregnancy are in effect in 14 states.
Abortion is banned or severely restricted in much of the South and is now banned during pregnancy in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. In Georgia, it is only allowed in the first six weeks.
The Carolinas, Florida and Virginia are now the top destinations in the region for those seeking legal abortions. Florida has a ban that goes into effect at 15 weeks pregnant. Under a recent law, that would be reduced to six weeks pending a court ruling. Farther west, the women often travel to Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, or Colorado.
If the North and South Carolina bans become law, combined with the recent Florida ban, “it would be devastating for abortion access in the South,” Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said Tuesday. to PA.
During the debate in the North Carolina Senate, Republicans said Cooper ignored $160 million in a measure that would increase funding to increase contraceptive services, reduce infant and maternal mortality and provide paid maternity leave to employees. and state teachers.
“North Carolinians watching this debate are witnessing the exaggerated and extremist objections from some Democrats,” said Sen. Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell County, R-Next. “His anger at her is that this bill is conventional and a common sense approach to a very difficult issue.”
Democrats focused on the details of the abortion rules, which they say create barriers between women and their doctors, leaving pregnant women in danger.
And the 12-week limit means young women will potentially have just a couple of weeks to decide whether an abortion is the right decision, leading them to continue unwanted pregnancies, said Mecklenburg County Democratic Sen. Natasha Marcus.
“This bill is a slap in the face. It’s a muzzle over our mouths and a straitjacket over our bodies,” Marcus said. After the vote in the Senate, loud cries of “shame!” they might be heard outside the chamber doors.
A new debate on abortion
A separate abortion access challenge will be considered on Wednesday, when a federal appeals court hears arguments on whether the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a widely used abortion drug, should be overturned.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will review a ruling issued last month by a federal judge in Texas that ordered a suspension of approval of mifepristone, a decision that overturned two decades of scientific approval for the drug. Said sentence was suspended while the appeal is being processed.
The three judges who will hear the case have records of supporting abortion restrictions. A ruling is not expected immediately.
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