Most abortions will no longer be legal in North Carolina after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The state’s GOP-controlled legislature on Tuesday night, May 16, carried out a razor-thin override of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a 46-page bill that tightens restrictions on abortion care here. The party-line vote in both chambers of the General Assembly gave supporters of the bill the three-fifths majority needed to override the governor’s veto. The House of Representatives voted 72-48 to override the veto after the Senate voted 30-20 in favor of the override earlier in the day.
The law, which lowers the state’s cutoff for most abortions from 20 weeks to 12 weeks and requires patients to meet in-person with a physician at least 72 hours before the procedure, goes into effect July 1. The historic override votes alter women’s health care in a state that has been a refuge for people seeking abortion care in the South.
Republicans in the Senate and House argued it is a compromise and not a “ban,” one they say will reduce the number of terminated pregnancies and make the procedures safer. They needed every vote to reach the three-fifths majority required for the override: It passed 30-20 in the Senate and 72-48 in the House.
House Democrats slammed the bill for going against both the will of constituents and the guidance of medical professionals. They also slammed Republicans for rushing it through the legislature.
North Carolina’s new law is still among the least restrictive measures in the South, where neighboring states such as Tennessee made abortion after six weeks a felony, just months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
In South Carolina, lawmakers are currently in a special session debating a six-week abortion ban, even though the state’s supreme court struck down a previous six-week ban arguing that it violated the South Carolina Constitution.
State Republicans spent the first four months of this legislative session struggling to form a consensus over how far to go with restrictions. Then in early May, they introduced a 12-week ban and passed it within 48 hours.
Abortion-rights advocates and Democrats, led by Cooper, spent two weeks raising alarm over the required 72-hour window for patients to see a doctor before their abortion procedure. They say it will limit access for North Carolinians living in poverty and people traveling here from out of state. Cooper vetoed the bill at a rally Saturday, setting up the override vote.
Republicans point to other provisions tucked into the 46-page bill, including millions of dollars to bolster contraception access and increase funding for child care, foster care and paid parental leave.
“Our bill puts to rest all of the noise and lies we’ve been hearing this past week, and brings to life a culture that cherishes motherhood and saves the lives of the unborn,” four Republican women state senators — Joyce Krawiec, Lisa Barnes, Amy Galey, and Vickie Sawyer — said in a joint release.