The new measure was unveiled just days after proposed bans fizzled last week in two other conservative states — a near-total ban in South Carolina and a six-week ban in Nebraska — with opposition coming from some Republican women and others in the party amid fears of a growing political backlash prompted by the fall of Roe v. Wade.
In North Carolina on Tuesday, female Republican lawmakers took a leading role in introducing the legislation at a surprise press conference, which capped months of closed-door deliberations among Republicans, many of whom had been pushing for a six-week ban. The lawmakers repeatedly claimed that the 12-week ban would be widely popular with residents of North Carolina, describing the proposal as a “mainstream” approach to the issue.
“We look[ed] at what most North Carolinians have said. This is where most of them come down,” said Republican state Sen. Joyce Krawiec, adding that there was “a lot of discussion, and a lot of back and forth.”
Another lawmaker, Rep. Sarah Stevens (R), the House Speaker pro tempore, referred to the bill as “pro-woman.”
Democratic leaders disputed the idea that the proposal would be popular with the public.
“Republican leadership has once again schemed behind closed doors and silenced the voices of both members of the public and members of the state legislature in order to force a harmful abortion ban down our throats,” state Sen. Dan Blue and Rep. Robert Reives said in a statement. “North Carolinians believe in freedom, including the freedom to decide if and when to start a family.”
The vast majority of abortions in the country are performed earlier than the limit North Carolina lawmakers will consider. In 2020, roughly 93 percent of abortions were performed at or earlier than 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The legislation would establish exceptions for rape and incest through 20 weeks, along with an exception for lethal fetal anomalies through 24 weeks. The proposal also includes an exception for the life of the mother.
While North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) has repeatedly vetoed abortion restrictions in the past, Tuesday’s announcement underscored a new dynamic in Raleigh, where last month a decision by a House Democrat to switch parties handed Republicans a veto-proof supermajority, which could give them the power to deliver on antiabortion legislation for the first time in years.
North Carolina, where abortion is currently legal until 20 weeks of pregnancy, has become a destination for people seeking abortions in the wake of the June Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, triggering strict bans across the South. In the first two months after the landmark ruling, North Carolina experienced a greater spike in abortions than any other state.
Across the country, conservatives in the months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe have pushed GOP leaders to seize the opportunity to enact strict bans. But voters have repeatedly demonstrated their strong support for abortion rights, striking down antiabortion amendments even in conservative states such as Kentucky and Kansas.
The 2022 midterms, in which a number of Democrats won competitive races after making abortion rights a central issue, were widely viewed as a danger sign for Republicans.
North Carolina Republicans said Tuesday that the proposal would be coupled with millions of dollars in additional spending for child care, paid parental leave for teachers and state employees, and foster care. The lawmakers said they would also increase funding for crisis pregnancy centers, organizations that aim to dissuade women from having abortions.
The text of the bill was not available Tuesday night. Votes on the legislation are expected in the coming days.
Rep. Tricia Cotham, the lawmaker whose party switch sealed the Republican supermajority in North Carolina, has expressed support for abortion rights in the past but has not said how she would vote as a Republican.
The Republican lawmakers who presented the plan on Tuesday said they were confident they could win support from some Democrats, several of whom have a history of voting for antiabortion legislation.
Earlier this year, every Democratic member in the state legislature signed onto a bill that would codify Roe into law. The legislation was meant as a showing of Democratic unity, though it was doomed from the start in the Republican-dominated legislature.
But in the days after, one Democratic lawmaker told The Post he hadn’t ruled out voting for restrictions on abortion.
“I lay down with it, I wake up with it,” state Rep. Garland Pierce (D), who leads the congregation at Bright Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Laurinburg, N.C., said at the time. “When you reach deep down you want to be sure you’re doing the right thing.”
NC Values Coalition, one of the leading antiabortion groups in North Carolina, had initially drafted a six-week abortion ban “as a starting point,” the group’s executive director, Tami Fitzgerald, previously told The Post.
In a statement issued after Tuesday’s news conference, the group said the proposal fell short of the group’s long-term goals. The group only supports abortion when it is necessary to save the life of the mother.
“NC Values believes life begins at conception, and that life is a human right. Although the General Assembly opted to limit abortion at 12 weeks, we are grateful more babies will be protected by moving the limit from 20 weeks back to 12 weeks,” said Fitzgerald.
