North Carolina House OKs bill tightening abortion limits
CTV
The North Carolina House on Wednesday approved a Republican package of abortion restrictions that would tighten the state's ban on the procedure from after 20 weeks to after 12 weeks, while creating new exceptions but also more requirements for pregnant women and physicians.
The North Carolina House on Wednesday approved a Republican package of abortion restrictions that would tighten the state's ban on the procedure from after 20 weeks to after 12 weeks, while creating new exceptions but also more requirements for pregnant women and physicians.
The fast-tracked legislation, which emerged the previous day after months of private negotiations among House and Senate GOP members, was scheduled to receive a final vote in the Senate on Thursday morning and could reach the desk of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper later that day.
Cooper, a strong abortion-rights supporter, vowed to fight the measure.
"I will veto this extreme ban and need everyone's help to hold it," Cooper said in a tweet.
But Republicans now hold veto-proof majorities in both General Assembly chambers after a House Democrat switched to the Republican Party last month. That advantage was reflected in the House's 71-46 vote for the measure Wednesday night after an hour of debate.
Earlier in the day, more than 200 people, including Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and members of Congress, rallied in opposition to the bill near the Legislative Building. Demonstrators later marched inside, and chanted "Abortion Rights Now!" from the House gallery during a break.
State law currently bans almost all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill being considered would reduce that to 12 weeks, or roughly at the first trimester. It also places limits on new exceptions, capping abortions at 20 weeks in cases of rape or incest and 24 weeks for "life-limiting" fetal anomalies, including certain physical or genetic disorders that can be diagnosed prenatally. An existing exception for when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger would remain.
