North Carolina lawmakers override governor's veto of abortion ban after 12 weeks
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Legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy will become law in North Carolina after the state's Republican-controlled General Assembly overrode a veto imposed by the Democratic governor.
Both the Republican-majority North Carolina Senate and House of Representatives voted Tuesday along party lines to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto imposed a few days ago on a bill banning abortion after 12 weeks. of pregnancy, with one of the most restrictive laws on the right to abortion in the United States.
The bill now becomes a state law that will go into effect on July 1. The law severely restricts access to abortion in the state.
Cooper vetoed SB 20 from the Senate on Saturday, which sent it back to the General Assembly. Cooper warned that the legislation would make it difficult for pregnant women to receive care and could lead to the closure of family planning and reproductive health clinics.
“Moving forward is the only way forward, but I'm sure of one thing: Right now, standing in the path of progress is this Republican-majority legislature that took only 48 hours to turn back the clock on women's health 50 years.” Cooper said at a veto rally in Raleigh on Saturday. “That is exactly what this bill does.”
The state House of Representatives voted 72-48 along party lines hours after the state Senate voted 30-20 to do the same. It took a three-fifths vote in both chambers, where Republicans hold a large majority, to overturn the governor's earlier rejection of the measure.
“Cooper, who had previously lobbied lawmakers to maintain his veto, said in a Twitter post after the vote that “North Carolinians now understand that Republicans are united in their assault on women's reproductive freedom.” and we are motivated to fight this and other critical issues.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the law a dangerous bill that is out of touch with most North Carolinians and will make it even more difficult for women to get care from reproductive health they need.
What is the new law that restricts abortion in North Carolina about?
Under the bill, the procedure could be performed by a doctor if a doctor determines that an abortion is necessary to prevent death, “not including psychological or emotional conditions.”
Under current state law, abortions are legal up to 20 weeks into the pregnancy. A reduction to 12 weeks is significant but less restrictive than some other GOP-led states that have recently enacted six-week or near-total bans on the procedure.
The bill also prohibits health care providers who oppose abortion “on moral, ethical or religious grounds” from being required to participate in medical procedures that would result in an abortion.
It also requires multiple in-person examinations by physicians seeking to prescribe or administer abortion-inducing medications and will prohibit individuals within the state from mailing such medications to a pregnant woman.
The bill requires doctors to confirm that the “probable gestational age” of a fetus is no more than 10 weeks, before they can approve a medical abortion.