A seismic policy shift has unfurled in North Carolina, marking a landmark victory for Republicans as legislation restricting abortions post the 12-week mark of pregnancy ascends to law.
The initiative overrode the veto of Democratic Governor Roy Cooper late Tuesday, exhibiting the clout of the state’s Republican-majority General Assembly.
This landmark law was enacted despite Governor Cooper’s statewide efforts to sway at least one Republican to sustain his anticipated veto. The finalization of the override vote happened Tuesday night in the House, following an earlier three-fifths majority vote in the Senate, signaling a strong alignment within the GOP.
While Republicans have painted the measure as a moderate amendment to the state law, which formerly prohibited nearly all abortions post the 20-week mark of pregnancy without exceptions for rape or incest, Democrats see it differently. This new legislation comes as part of a broader debate concerning abortion rights across the U.S., as lawmakers in other Southern states consider tightening their own abortion laws.
Notably, South Carolina and Nebraska joined North Carolina in the deliberation over abortion restrictions on Tuesday. These discussions were given impetus by the last year’s overturning of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which had granted a nationwide right to abortion.
Simultaneously, South Carolina House was set to vote on a measure that could ban abortions almost entirely six weeks into pregnancy—before many women even realize they are pregnant. A similar proposal was previously denied by the South Carolina state Senate.
The new laws coincide with a time of intense debate over abortion rights in the U.S. A patchwork of abortion bans and restrictions are in effect across much of the South, with full-term abortion bans in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. Georgia permits abortions only within the initial six weeks of pregnancy.
The Carolinas, Florida, and Virginia currently serve as main destinations for those seeking legal abortions within the region. Florida, in particular, enforces an abortion ban starting 15 weeks into pregnancy, with a prospective law poised to tighten this timeframe to six weeks, pending a court ruling.
If North and South Carolina’s proposed laws gain traction, coupled with Florida’s recent ban, it would significantly reduce abortion access in the South, said Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
Meanwhile, the North Carolina Senate debate took a contentious turn. Republican Sen. Vickie Sawyer of Iredell County argued that Democrats exaggerated their objections to the bill, labeling them as extremist. She pointed out that the legislation also included $160 million in funding to enhance contraceptive services, decrease infant and maternal mortality, and provide paid maternity leave for state employees and teachers.
Democrats, on the other hand, honed in on the abortion restrictions, arguing that they put up barriers between women and their doctors, jeopardizing the health of pregnant women. They also criticized the 12-week cutoff as being too brief for young women to decide whether to pursue an abortion, potentially forcing them into unwanted pregnancies.
Related: Democrat Senator Slaps Down AOC Over Rule of Law, Abortion Pill Ruling
As debates raged on, anti-abortion activists packed the North Carolina Senate gallery, a visible demonstration of the passionate opinions held by many. Similar heated debates and protests played out in other states, evidencing the contentious nature of this issue across the country.
This shift in the political landscape is not confined to the Carolinas. In Nebraska, a proposal to ban abortions at 12 weeks is under discussion, while Montana’s Republican Governor, Greg Gianforte, has signed into law a bill criminalizing the most common abortion method post 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Further west, women often journey to states like Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, or Colorado for legal abortions. Nationwide, bans on abortion throughout pregnancy are currently active in 14 states.