Our Statement on Abortion in North Carolina

NC Senate Bill 20: 12-week abortion ban is a threat to the safety, health, and livelihoods of women and families in our state.

It is unethical and immoral to force people in North Carolina to carry and deliver pregnancies against their will. For many people, abortion is life-saving healthcare. With the highest maternal mortality rate of any industrialized country in the world, a positive pregnancy test in our country is too often a death sentence. In North Carolina the maternal mortality rate doubled from 2019 to 2021, and the current rate is four times the national average. 

Black and Brown mothers and women in abusive relationships fare even worse. Black mothers experience a maternal mortality rate almost three times higher than white mothers in the United States. Women in abusive relationships are three times more likely to be killed by their abuser when they are pregnant. Homicide is the leading cause of death among pregnant women. Beyond this, the physical condition of pregnancy is life-changing. For many people who give birth, pregnancy permanently changes their body’s capability, especially for people with disabilities.

State legislators know very well that North Carolinians urgently need paid family and medical leave, affordable and high-quality child care, and better public schools for families in our state to thrive. Too many families in our state struggle to make ends meet and balance caregiving responsibilities as it is. Paid family leave is not guaranteed to parents caring for new babies or family members facing serious medical problems or to recover from serious illness themselves. Over 20,000 children in North Carolina are on the waitlist for child care assistance. In fact, most people who seek out abortions already have children, and half live in poverty. Beyond this, families in North Carolina are already being ripped apart at startling rates, with over 12,000 children currently in the foster care system. If so-called family advocates really want to fight for children and parents in our state, we need to start by creating opportunities for families to thrive. Forcing people to give birth against their will solves absolutely no problems, and in fact threatens the livelihoods of families already struggling to get by.

North Carolina is one of the last states in the South where pregnant people can seek abortion care. This ban would make already inaccessible health care almost impossible for patients to access. Abortion is life-saving health care, and patients in the South deserve access to high-quality, compassionate, and safe abortion care. A 12-week abortion ban in North Carolina won’t stop wealthy women from seeking out abortion care in other states. Instead, it punishes people of color, families in poverty, and women in abusive relationships who need this care to survive.

Here’s what we know and how you can help:

Governor Cooper has announced he will veto the 12-week abortion ban on Saturday, May 13. 

There is likely a veto-proof majority of supporters of this bill.

We still have time to change legislators’ minds. Please see Carolina Abortion Fund’s Call to Action for actions you can take to protect abortion access in our great state right now.

North Carolina: 
1. NC Governor Roy Cooper has announced he will veto the Monster Abortion Ban on Saturday. This means Republicans will attempt to do a veto override next week. All we need is one Republican who previously claimed to support reproductive freedom to abstain from voting.

CALL: 
Rep. John Bradford: 919-733-5828
Rep. Tricia Cotham (hissing noise): 919-733-5749
Rep. Ted Davis: 919-733-5786
Sen. Michael Lee: 919-715-2525

This fight is not over. We are committed to protecting, defending, and advocating for accessible, affordable, high-quality, compassionate, and safe abortion care in North Carolina. You have the power to change the course of our state’s history. Join us. Take action today.