The Quickie: North Carolina House Passes Abortion Ban, Senate Voting Today
For Immediate Release: May 4, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: NC House passes abortion ban, PP seeks block of MT abortion restrictions, and abortion and trans rights bills signed into law in MD.
NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE PASSES ABORTION BAN, SENATE VOTING TODAY: Yesterday, the North Carolina House passed SB 20. In a shocking procedural move, lawmakers dramatically amended the bill mere hours before the vote, adding a 12-week abortion ban and a number of other provisions that will severely restrict abortion access. Some of those provisions include:
- A two-trip in-person 72-hour waiting period;
- An in-person dispensing requirement for medication abortion requiring a physician to be present when the pill is first administered;
- So called “born alive” provisions;
- A limit on providing medication abortion after 70 days of gestation
The North Carolina Senate is currently considering the bill and are expected to vote on it within the next couple of hours, sending it to the governor’s desk. Gov. Cooper has promised to veto the bill.
“This is a horrendous, monster abortion ban cloaked in medical misinformation, misdirection, and straight-up lies,” said Jillian Riley, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “Anti-abortion politicians have rolled up a ban on abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy into a far-reaching bill with new, severe restrictions that will make it much harder to provide abortion care and for patients to get an abortion even before 12 weeks. Politicians are putting pregnant people at risk and stripping us of our rights to build our families and futures.”
Anti-abortion politicians in North Carolina subverted the democratic process and skipped debate and testimony from experts and the public because they know a majority of North Carolinians are against their cruel attempt to limit their bodily autonomy. The impacts of this ban will be devastating: it will force North Carolinians to travel out-of-state for basic health care and effectively shut down a crucial abortion care access point in the South for out-of-state patients.
Read more at AP.
PP SEEKS TO BLOCK NEW ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN MONTANA: Yesterday evening, Planned Parenthood of Montana (PPMT) and its Chief Medical Officer Dr. Samuel Dickman sought emergency relief in Montana state court against HB 575, a new law that requires all patients in Montana undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion. The law immediately took place upon signing yesterday.
The lawsuit argues that this provision violates Montanans’ rights to privacy and to pre-viability abortions under the state constitution by effectively banning direct-to-patient telehealth for medication abortions, a method of providing abortion care that has been consistently proven to be both safe and effective.
“Instead of trusting us to make our own decisions about our bodies and lives, Montana lawmakers are once again forcing their way into our exam rooms and blocking our access to essential health care,” Martha Fuller, PPMT President and CEO, said. “By adding unnecessary and burdensome red tape to a safe and legal medical procedure, these politicians have made clear that it was never about our health and safety. It was always about undermining our personal freedom and shaming people who seek abortions.”
Read more at the Hill. PPFA release.
GOV. MOORE SIGNS BILLS PROTECTING REPRO &TRANS RIGHTS IN MARYLAND: Yesterday, Gov. Wes Moore signed into law a number of bills protecting abortion and trans rights in the state of Maryland. Those bills included:
- The Reproductive Health Protection Act: a shield law aiming to protect patients and providers from any penalties relating to abortion bans in other states
- A data privacy bill to protect reproductive health information
- A bill ensuring access to birth control, abortion pills, and emergency contraceptives in or near public college and university campuses in the state.
- The Trans Health Equity Act, which expands the gender-affirming care procedures that are covered by the state’s Medicaid program beginning January 1, 2024.