North Carolina banned abortion for past 12 weeks, defying governor's veto (2023)

Both bills significantly shorten the legal windowspontaneous abortions, but drop the stricter bans that have been in effect in the South and Midwest since the Supreme Court overturnedroe vs wade-- under pressure from moderate Republicans worried about political backlash.

In South Carolina, Republicans are moving through the state legislature to ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, around the sixth week of pregnancy. The Republican governor has ordered lawmakers to reconvene to finish unfinished business, including legislation restricting abortion. The state's near-total ban recently failed.

The dynamic underscores the resistance Republican lawmakers face to limit even within their own party, as hardline Republicans are reluctant to push through legislation that many see as compromise after failing to garner enough support for tougher measures.

Until recently, North Carolina's legislature had little hope of passing an abortion ban, but Cooper vetoed it. But that changed in April, when Republicans won the votes necessary to override their veto after Congresswoman Tricia Cotham left the Democratic Party to join the Republican Party.

whenInitially, the 12-week ban passedIn early May, Cooper, backed by Cotham, took aggressive steps to prevent the veto from being overturned, targeting a handful of moderate Republicans, including Cotham, who had vowed against further restrictions on abortion during the campaign.

"If only one Republican in the House or Senate delivers on their campaign promise to protect women's reproductive health, we can stop this ban," Cooper said at a rally before the bill's veto on Saturday, surrounded by a crowd. right.

Republicans in the legislature said they hoped the 12-week ban would serve as a model for the rest of the country, casting the bill as a "mainstream" alternative to an abortion ban that bans early-trimester abortions. This is the first new abortion ban since the fallroe vs wadedoes not prohibit all or most abortions, efficientAllow about 90%Abortions are still going on. Key provisions of the bill, such as the 12-week limit on most abortions, will go into effect on July 1, with some other restrictions starting on October 1.

The Senate debated the bill for about an hour, with Democrats criticizing the proposed abortion restrictions and Republicans defending the measure. The debate in the chamber was also quick, lasting about 90 minutes.

"I think it's really in line with the majority of people in North Carolina, so I'm not particularly worried about the backlash," Sen. Amy Galey (R) of North Carolina said in an interview. "It was a reasonable one at the time. bill."

Republicans vehemently opposed calling the bill a "ban," repeatedly interrupting Senate Democrats who were using the term and asking them to reword it.

"An injunction is when you can't do something," Gary said. "Prohibited" is a very harsh word.

Democrats have urged the restrictions to have a broader impact on pregnancy care, arguing that patients are denied access to vital care in states that ban abortion.

“As legislators, you are knowingly betraying your constituents and putting the people of North Carolina at risk,” Senator Gladys A. Robinson (D) told the Senate floor on Tuesday. "This terrible abortion ban will result in substandard care."

North Carolina Democrats argued strongly that the bill would stop abortions before the 12-week mark, expressing particular concern over a rule requiring patients to see a doctor in person at least 72 hours before an abortion, in addition to the abortion itself.

The extra in-person visits will make it harder for out-of-state patients to travel to North Carolina, which currently allows abortions up to 20 weeks of pregnancy and has become a destination for patients seeking abortions across the South after a decision by the Supreme Court. Decide. firsttwo monthsAfter this historic decision, North Carolina has a higher abortion rate than any other state.

Cooper strongly disputed the "traditional" description of the 12-week ban.

"It's an abortion ban that fundamentally limits a woman's freedom in terms of health care," Cooper said in an interview. "They're trying to suspend him for a reasonable 12 weeks. That's not it."

new lawEstablish20 weeks for rape and incest exceptions, and 24 weeks for fatal fetal anomalies, and The general exception to the life of the mother. Unlike many other abortion restrictions, the ban comes with tens of millions of dollars to fund child care, foster care and paid family leave.—Republican lawmakers said the increased funding was in response to criticism from abortion rights advocates that conservatives often push to ban abortion but fail to support mothers and children.

The passage of North Carolina's 12-week abortion ban earlier this month was the culmination of months of top-secret Republican caucus meetings in which lawmakers struggled to reach an agreement on the ban in order to gain enough votes to override the veto.

Instead of introducing the proposal as a new bill, as is usually the case, Republicans eliminated another bill and inserted a 46-page abortion bill that would allow them to bypass the committee process that typically takes weeks or months, Democrats said. People call it measures to accommodate despotism.

"I just don't think democracy is supposed to work that way," House Minority Leader Robert Reeves (D) said at a hearing this month. "It affects the rights of half the state's population."

Discussions began in Raleigh, the state capital, about a possible abortion ban shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, according to several people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity in private conversations. While many Republicans support a stricter ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, some moderate Republicans have stood their ground, refusing to go beyond 12 weeks, well aware that a political backlash against strict abortion bans has been rising since the decision.

in these monthscaviarAfter being voted down, even in conservative states like Kentucky and Kansas, voters have repeatedly shown they strongly support abortion rights and reject anti-abortion amendments. Many Democrats won contested races in the 2022 midterm elections after making abortion rights a major issue, in what was widely seen as a sign of danger for Republicans.

North Carolina finds itself in a unique situation ahead of the 2023 legislative session. With a Republican-led Legislature and a Democratic governor, the state needs far more votes than other states to pass abortion restrictions.

"We were trying to do something that wasn't really planned," said one of the people involved in the discussions. "We're a state that's evenly divided, so we know we need a middle way."

That's not the case in Nebraska, where conservative lawmakers and abortion advocates are alarmed at where the opposition is coming from. Late last month, the legislature failed to pass a proposed early pregnancy ban,spark angry talkA path forward between Republicans and anti-abortionists.

Senator Merv Riepe, a longtime Republican in the nearly nonpartisan Legislature, abstained in introducing a bill that would ban most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected at around 6 weeks. An abortion advocate called the move a "shocking betrayal". " "

Conservative lawmakers and activists quickly regrouped to begin paving the way for restrictions on abortion. these discussionsend with an amendmentSupport for a bill that would limit access to gender-affirming care for Sen. Ben Henson, chairman of the Nebraska Legislature's health committee. The proposed amendment would ban most 12-week abortions, but it includes exceptions for rape, incest and maternal life and health, and would change the underlying law that limits custody rights for transgender youth.

Riepe ultimately supported the amendment.

"I'm happy at 12 weeks, but I still want more protection for doctors," Riepe said. "We didn't make anyone happy during the process. When both parties are not completely satisfied, you have a pretty good bill. He asked his colleagues to work with him in the next session to make sure the doctors don't be accused.

Riepe had previously lobbied the Legislature to repeal the 12-week ban, but his proposal blocked most abortions.12 weeks after egg fertilization,That is, a window longer than the considered 12-week pregnancy limit, which is measured against the first day of a woman's last menstrual period.

The unicameral Legislature approved the amendment Tuesday night, and a final vote on the bill could take place as early as Friday, but no decision has yet been made, according to the sheriff's office.

Abortion rights advocates have condemned the proposed new restrictions, as well as efforts to tie the ban to measures that limit gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups say they are conflicted: They understand local political realities, want to see Nebraska move past the 12-week limit, but are frustrated that most abortions can continue.

Nate Grasz, policy director for Family League of Nebraska, said the 12-week moratorium "is not something we expected or anticipated, even just a few weeks ago, which is the situation we found ourselves in. ".

Jasmine Hennessy-Fiske and Colby Itkowitz contributed to this report.