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Warns Politicians: “These dangerous and deeply unpopular restrictions would endanger women’s health and safety.”

WASHINGTON – Following the North Carolina Senate’s passage of wildly unpopular legislation that could dramatically restrict access to safe and legal abortion in the state, Planned Parenthood Action Fund called on Governor Pat McCrory to veto the bill and keep his promise to North Carolina women not to interfere in their personal medical decisions.  The Action Fund recently unveiled a new initiative after Texas Governor Rick Perry signed similar legislation called “In it for the long run” that will mobilize people across the country – from North Carolina to Texas to Ohio – to hold politicians accountable for these attacks on women’s health.

Recent polling found that the majority of North Carolina voters oppose the measures approved by the legislature today, with 80 percent opposing the underhanded tactics used by the legislature to jam the bill through.  Over the past three weeks, thousands of North Carolinians have rallied at the Capitol, called their legislators and organized on social media to send a clear, powerful, and unmistakable message that women don’t want politicians to meddle in their personal medical decisions. Today, over 35,000 petitions were delivered to Governor McCrory, urging him to keep his promise and veto the bill when it comes to his desk. 

Statement from Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“Make no mistake: These dangerous and deeply unpopular restrictions would endanger women’s health and safety. Governor McCrory should keep the promise he made to North Carolina women during his campaign and veto the bill sent to him today by the legislature.  Like the legislation signed by Texas Governor Rick Perry over the objections of the majority of Texans, this bill would severely limit access to safe and legal abortion, causing women to resort to desperate measures.

“Doctors oppose this bill because they know it will hurt their patients, and the public overwhelmingly opposes these attacks on women’s health. In North Carolina, the majority of people oppose the bill sent to Governor McCrory today, which is why Speaker Tillis and his allies had to break the rules and shut down the democratic process to push this through the General Assembly.

“In North Carolina, Texas and across the country, folks are standing up to say ‘enough is enough.’ We’ve seen an overwhelming outpouring of support for women’s health and rights in North Carolina. This bill would take women back 40 years, and we won’t go back.”

After several anti-women’s health bills failed to advance in the legislature, HB 695, a bill unrelated to women’s health, was drastically amended to include every single abortion restriction introduced in the 2013 legislative session – and even new ones that were not considered before.  These include targeted restrictions of abortion providers that, if implemented, could dramatically restrict the number of health centers that provide abortion in North Carolina. Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures and already one of the most heavily regulated.

In another attempt to confuse the public, the House Judiciary Committee gutted another unrelated bill, SB 353 formerly dealing with motorcycle safety, and inserted provisions from HB 695 into it.  SB 353 passed the House 74-41 and then on Thursday, July 25, 2013 it passed the Senate 32 to 13.

Earlier this month, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund went up with radio ads calling on Speaker Thom Tillis to oppose these attacks on North Carolina women. 

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