In North Carolina, a bill pertaining to abortion will likely be passed by state GOP lawmakers in short order.
Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is promising to veto the bill, but that could likely be overridden by a GOP supermajority, per CNN. Previously, the legislature subverted a veto from the governor that allows one to exercise their constitutional right to acquire a firearm without being required to first obtain a state permit.
In a video he posted to Twitter, Cooper argues the bill’s prohibition on terminating a fetus after the first trimester of pregnancy is not “reasonable” and will greatly harm the “health care freedom” of women.
He also says it is misleading, claiming that fine print found in the proposed legislation effectively bans the use of an abortion pill at 10 weeks of pregnancy. The North Carolina governor additionally decried a rule for three in-person doctor visits to be made prior to commencing an abortion, stating that many women do not have the time or means to meet the requirement.
This bill has nothing to do with making women safer, and everything to do with banning their reproductive freedom. pic.twitter.com/nfBagT3ijz
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) May 4, 2023
Blaze Media reported that the proposal sailed through the state House and Senate exclusively on party lines, with Democrats staunchly in opposition. It passed both chambers in less than two days after its introduction, according to CNN.
This bill will prohibit the majority of abortions after three months of pregnancy, with notable exceptions including a 20-week exemption for women who were conceived after a violent attack or incest took place and allowing for up to six months in the case of a baby experiencing a “life-limiting anomaly.”
It also reportedly bans any abortions that are requested over reasons of ethnicity or Down syndrome.
In Cooper’s eyes, this marks an “extreme ban,” that often takes effect sooner than at 12 weeks of pregnancy.
I will veto this extreme ban and need everyone’s help to hold it. – RC pic.twitter.com/5uu1iAbHhx
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) May 3, 2023
“By 12 weeks’ gestation, all major organs have formed and the heart has beat over 10 million times,” notes a press release on the subject posted by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “At this stage, babies suck their thumbs and already have a right-hand or left-hand preference. Prominent facial features including the nose, cheeks, eyes and ears are recognizable; teeth are developing; and the body responds to touch.”
