North Carolina Legislature Passes 12-Week Abortion Ban
North Carolina hastily approved legislation on Thursday that would ban most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, setting the stage for a likely test of the Republican Party’s new, but slim, supermajority.
After an emotional, five-hour debate, the Senate, by a vote of 29 to 20, approved a ban that the House had already passed the night before.
The state’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, who has called the bill “extreme,” said he would veto it and has 10 days to act. But the legislature now has the potential to override his veto if Republicans can keep their party united to muster enough votes.
If enacted, the bill would reduce abortion access in the state, which currently allows abortion up to 20 weeks. It would also further curtail the procedure throughout the South, where one state after another has pushed to ban or restrict it since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. North Carolina has become a destination for women seeking abortions.
Source: The New York Times
