On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles issued an 34-page order blocking two provisions of North Carolina’s new abortion law, which Republicans secured by overcoming a veto by pro-abortion Governor Roy Cooper (D).
The first of these restrictions pertains to surgical abortions that occur after 12 weeks, which must be performed only in hospitals. The limitation was scheduled to take effect on Sunday, October 1.
In a similar preliminary injunction, Judge Eagles “extended beyond her temporary decision in June an order preventing the enforcement of a rule requiring doctors to document the existence of a pregnancy within the uterus before prescribing a medication abortion,” according to Gary Robertson of the Associated Press.
The “Care for Women, Children, and Families Act,” which was passed in May, would permit unlimited abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. It also includes exceptions for rape or incest through 20 weeks of pregnancy and for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies during the first 24 weeks. The existing “life of the mother” exception would remain in place.
In their brief, lawmakers vigorously defended the Act.
The lawsuit filed by plaintiffs is an overt attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. by seeking to create new constitutional roadblocks to laws that protect women from unsafe abortion practices. This is according to lawyers representing State Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore.
In response, lawmakers defended the documentation requirement for abortionists administering abortion drugs.
“As the leading cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester, ectopic pregnancies must be identified and treated before they rupture,” argued the lawyers representing the lawmakers. “The North Carolina General Assembly addressed this danger by requiring doctors to document an intrauterine pregnancy (IUP) prior to giving women drugs that can mask the symptoms of a life-threatening rupture.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also addressed this risk by including a warning on mifepristone’s label that a prescriber must ‘exclude [an ectopic pregnancy] before treatment.’ Codifying FDA’s warning into law is a rational approach.
The lawmakers brief continued
“The General Assembly also sought to provide safe conditions for women who seek abortions beyond the first trimester. As Plaintiffs have conceded, women who have post-12-week surgical abortions may experience life-threatening complications that require hospitalization. What’s more, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT) admits that it has transferred women from its facilities to hospitals due to complications from post-12-week surgical abortions that it could not treat at its facilities.”
On May 17, when the legislature voted to override Gov. Cooper’s veto, Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, stated, “Our hope is that this law, which allows for unlimited abortions for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, will result in the saving of precious lives.” Furthermore, she stated, “We are aware that 90% of all abortions occur before the 12th week of pregnancy, and we will persist in our efforts until all innocent human life is safeguarded.”
North Carolina has taken steps to protect some babies, and North Carolina Right to Life is thankful whenever a child is saved, according to Bill Pincus, M.D., president of North Carolina Right to Life at the time. It is a matter of record that 99% of abortions are performed on healthy women carrying healthy babies. Furthermore, the vast majority of abortions occur before 12 weeks. In every instance of an abortion, a child dies. If abortion is healthcare as they claim, it would be helpful to know which disease is being treated.
Robertson posited that, in the absence of successful appeals by Republican legislative leaders defending the laws, the order will remain in effect until a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a physician who performs abortions challenging the sections is resolved.
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
