North Carolina bans abortion at 12 weeks, overriding Democratic governor’s veto

North Carolina has passed legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy after the state’s Republican-controlled general assembly successfully overrode the Democratic governor’s veto on Tuesday evening.

Both the state senate and house voted along party lines, with the senate voting 30-20. The house completed the second and final part of the override with a vote of 72-48. The bill will repeal the current law, which bans abortions after 20 weeks.

The move is expected to deal a fresh blow to one of the last bastions of abortion access in the south, which has been significantly curtailed after the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last year. And it is part of a growing push across the US to further cripple abortion protections – Tuesday also saw Republicans pushing for stricter abortion bans in South Carolina and Nebraska. Both debates are still ongoing, despite the party’s recent losses in states where they are focusing on abortion limits.

On Saturday, North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, had honored a vow he made to his state to protect reproductive rights by vetoing SB 20 during a public rally in Raleigh which was attended by thousands.

Cooper condemned the decision to override his veto and move forward with the ban, and said he would do “everything I can to protect abortion access in North Carolina, because women’s lives depend on it”.

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Last week, Republicans had rushed the bill through the house, drawing criticism from other legislators and abortion rights advocates. The 46-page bill, in addition to banning abortion after 12 weeks, extends the waiting period for people seeking abortions to 72 hours, requires providers to send sensitive information to the state department of health and human services, and requires clinics to obtain special licensing that would result in clinic closures throughout the state.

The new restrictions pose grave concerns for abortion providers, who have already witnessed a sharp uptick in patients traveling to North Carolina for abortion care after Roe v Wade was overturned.

During Tuesday’s debate, state Democrats spoke out against the new restrictions. Diamond Staton-Williams, the house representative for Cabarrus county, even shared her own abortion story and how it helped her family.

“It was not an easy decision, at all, it was not made lightly or frivolously,” she said on the house floor. “I knew that in order for my family to prosper and to continue with the opportunities in front of us, this was the best decision for us.”

The White House also issued a statement condemning the decision.

“Today, Republican state legislators in North Carolina overturned Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of a dangerous bill that is out of touch with the majority of North Carolinians and will make it even more difficult for women to get the reproductive healthcare they need,” said the press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre.

North Carolina has a unique position as an abortion provider in the south, especially after the overturn of Roe v Wade. A third of North Carolina patients seeking abortions since the supreme court decision come from outside the state, Planned Parenthood estimates. One report shows the number of people traveling to North Carolina for abortion care rose by 37% as restrictions tightened in neighboring southern states since last summer. Others show an average increase of 788 patients monthly after the supreme court’s decision.

In recent days, advocates who foresaw the overturning of the governor’s veto of SB 20 had sprung into action hoping to sway lawmakers who showed support for reproductive rights in the past, such as Tricia Cotham, a representative who handed house Republicans a supermajority after switching parties last month.

Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic launched a television ad campaign reminding viewers of Republican state representative Ted Davis’s promise to uphold North Carolina’s 20-week ban.

The group also supported Governor Cooper’s efforts to reach constituents and providers in Mecklenburg, Guilford and New Hanover counties last week during a series of round tables. At each talk, the governor informed constituents about the contents of the bill. Cooper also called out Republican lawmakers in the state who had previously said they would protect abortion access in the state.

But their efforts were quashed on Tuesday when the lawmakers remained aligned with the rest of their party.

Agencies contributed to this report