Source: News & Observer
More than six weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Republicans are continuing their campaign to strip away reproductive freedoms across the country.
In states like North Carolina, this campaign to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion will extend far beyond 2023, particularly if state Republicans gain a supermajority in the legislature.
State House Speaker Tim Moore has already alluded to passing controversial anti-abortion measures such as a heartbeat law, which has passed in South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia.
Just last week, Sen. Thom Tillis and Rep. Ted Budd asked North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein to protect their controversial crisis pregnancy centers, while in June, Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger called on the attorney general to reinstate North Carolina’s ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
For now, abortion is safe and legal in North Carolina, and with neighboring states passing extremist Republican laws, the state is becoming a safe haven for hundreds of out-of-state providers and patients seeking this critical health care service.
Yet, millions of North Carolinians and those in the entire Southeast region could lose out on this vital reproductive health service if Republicans win a supermajority in the legislature, thus gaining the ability to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto power.
As Jenny Black, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic stated in July, “To keep abortion legal in this state, North Carolinians must elect candidates who will protect access to sexual and reproductive health care at the state level and ensure Governor Cooper has the necessary votes to sustain his veto of the all-out attacks on reproductive freedom. The future of abortion access not only for North Carolinians but potentially the entire Southeast region is on the line in 2022.”
