The Quickie: North Carolina Politicians To Ram Through Sweeping New Abortion Restrictions in Rushed, Undemocratic Process
For Immediate Release: May 3, 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 abortion ban rapidly advances, UT functional abortion ban blocked, and the dystopia of ND’s abortion ban.
TODAY: NORTH CAROLINA POLITICIANS TO VOTE ON SWEEPING NEW ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN RUSHED, UNDEMOCRATIC PROCESS: Today, with less than 24 hours notice and no opportunity for comments from experts or the public, the North Carolina House will vote on a new extreme abortion bill. S.B. 20 would ban abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, in addition to a number of other restrictions aimed at making abortion as inaccessible as possible.
These politicians have ignored all established norms and rules by intending to push S.B 20 directly to the House and Senate floors for votes, bypassing the standard committee process and any opportunity for testimony from medical experts or the public. Legislators are once again defying the will of the majority of their constituents’ — 62% of whom believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. A vote by the North Carolina House is scheduled for today at 3:00pm ET. A Senate vote will take place tomorrow.
“North Carolina lawmakers are hellbent on silencing our voices and denying our right to be heard in the people’s house, all in the name of stripping us of our fundamental rights and banning essential health care,” said Jillian Riley, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “Lawmakers have ignored their own deadlines, flagrantly disregarded the entire committee process, and eliminated any chance for the public to speak against this sweeping ban because they know what they’re doing is wrong and deeply unpopular. Any ban on abortion, regardless of when in pregnancy, amounts to politicians taking control of a person’s body. If legislators truly want to support working parents, combat our maternal mortality crisis, and increase access to contraception, they must do so without passing a dangerous abortion ban.”
Read more at AP.
COURT BLOCKS IMPLEMENTATION OF UTAH LAW THAT FUNCTIONALLY BANS ABORTION: Yesterday, the Third Judicial District Court for Salt Lake County granted abortion providers’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of H.B. 467, a new law that would functionally eliminate access to abortion in Utah. H.B. 467 would ban abortion care from being provided anywhere but at a hospital, despite licensed clinics providing over 95% of abortions in the state. The law, which was set to take effect today, would have resulted in a functional abortion ban even though abortion is still legal up until 18 weeks of pregnancy in Utah.
In yesterday’s ruling, the court found that the law likely violates the Utah Constitution by banning abortion at licensed abortion clinics but allowing it at hospitals, because outpatient clinics provide abortion care just as safely and at far lower cost than hospitals.
“It is obvious to everyone that H.B. 467 is an abortion ban that will threaten women’s lives and the well-being of families,” Sarah Stoesz, interim President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said in a statement. “H.B. 467 is not just a ‘clean-up bill’ — it would force Planned Parenthood health centers and other providers to turn away those seeking legal health care that we are trained and ready to provide. While we welcome this victory, the threat to Utahns’ health and personal freedom remains dire as politicians continue to undermine our judicial process and fight the injunction against Utah’s trigger ban.”
Read more at the New York Times and Salt Lake Tribune.
THE DYSTOPIA OF NORTH DAKOTA’S ABORTION BAN: Last week, North Dakota became the 19th state to eliminate all or some abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June. S.B. 2150 bans all abortions with two extremely narrow exceptions: when the pregnant person’s life or serious health is at risk or if they can prove they are a survivor of rape or incest and only if they are seeking abortion care before six weeks of pregnancy. North Dakota’s abortion ban proves once again how unworkable these exceptions in abortion bans are given the short time windows and the burden of proof under traumatic circumstances.
Salon’s Hannah Matthews describes the dystopia that comes with these bans: “These North Dakotans could have lived long and healthy lives and built thriving families or careers, if only they had access to the health care they needed and the bodily autonomy that rightfully belonged to them. Entire families will suffer incalculable physical and emotional traumas, will feel the financial devastation for decades and generations to come.”
Read more at Salon.