NC General Assembly stoops to new low in latest attack on women’s right to an abortion

The NC House of Representatives do not have the votes to override Gov. Cooper’s veto of SB 359, the so-called “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” when all House members are present. So they have placed the bill on the voting calendar and then postponed it ten times in hopes of finding a moment when enough pro-choice champions have left the House floor to enable the GOP to sneak in a vote.

• This “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” is a farce. It’s a solution in search of a problem. Its real goal is to intimidate doctors and simply make it harder for women to access abortion care.
• SB 359 is part of a coordinated national right-wing effort to eventually ban abortion outright and ask the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court (five men, two appointed by Trump) to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which guarantees a woman’s right to an abortion.
• The legislature has a history of passing abortion restrictions that don’t make sense and get struck down. Last week, a federal judge formally struck down the state’s law that would have banned abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.
• Despite the right-wing attacks on abortion rights, poll after poll shows that a strong majority of Americans want to maintain the Roe decision and a woman’s right to an abortion.
• Even 45% of Republicans (yes, Republicans) don’t want Roe overturned.
• “Yes, They Will Take Your Right to Reproductive Freedom.” Anyone who thinks the Supreme Court and right-wing politicians will not ban abortion outright should think again. The Roe decision is at risk and now is the time for people to stand up and speak up to protect a woman’s right to control her own body.
• Republicans in the state legislature have stooped to a new low. They don’t have the votes to overturn SB 359 when all NC House members are present. So they have resorted to scheduling and postponing a veto override vote more than ten times. Their hope is to sneak in a vote when pro-choice champions are not on the floor.
• The GOP’s scheduling and then postponing of votes has forced one House member, Rep. Sydney Batch (D-Wake), to cut her breast cancer recovery time early. Instead of taking time to recover from a mastectomy, Batch is forced to come to every session on the chance that House Speaker Time Moore will actually call a vote on SB 359 which he has scheduled on the calendar but keeps postponing.
• Speaker Moore should call a vote to override SB 359 right away at a time when all members are present. Raleigh politicians should not play parliamentary games with legislation that could impact access to abortion care.

Regardless of our personal views of abortion, politicians have no right to control how women live their lives, have their families, or choose what to do with their bodies. A woman seeking an abortion should be able to do so without interference from politicians or laws that make it harder.