Four years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, reversing nearly 50 years of precedent that guaranteed the right to an abortion.
Here in North Carolina, anti-abortion politicians moved quickly to restrict that care.
As an OBGYN in Raleigh, I remember the alarm I felt realizing my patients could lose access to essential, time-sensitive care. At the time, U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley said he was “proud” of the decision. He went on to champion North Carolina’s severe abortion ban with narrow exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother- calling it “responsible,” “reasonable,” and “mainstream.”
There is nothing reasonable or responsible about this law. It is dangerous. It is harmful. And Whatley’s support for it is troubling—though not surprising. As chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, Whatley oversaw a platform that included a call for a total abortion ban with no exceptions. Later, as chair of the Republican National Committee, he said he was “proud to be the most pro-life chair in the history of the Republican Party.”
I am deeply grateful to Governor Cooper for standing with patients and vetoing North Carolina’s abortion ban. But that veto was overridden by Raleigh Republicans, and my patients continue to live with the consequences today. Now, Whatley wants to take these restrictions nationwide. He has been endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a dark money anti-abortion group whose central mission is to “end abortion” and that exclusively supports candidates who back a national abortion ban.
The goal is clear: elect leaders who will pass federal restrictions that go even further than what North Carolina has already enacted. North Carolinians neither want nor need this.
A majority oppose the state’s current abortion ban—the same law Whatley called “mainstream.”
A top priority in my profession is ensuring that my patients have safe, accessible, and compassionate care. North Carolina’s abortion ban has already compromised that standard.
A national ban would make it even worse. My patients deserve better. North Carolina physicians and other clinicians deserve better.
Dr. Jenna Beckham is an OBGYN based in Raleigh.
