North Carolina is latest front in abortion rights war

North Carolina Republicans are playing with fire on abortion, attempting to restrict the procedure despite voter sentiment there and despite the growing salience of abortion rights as an issue. That North Carolina Republicans are following the path of other much redder Southern states in restricting these rights is an indication of just how committed they are. That they’re doing it in the face of horror stories of women suffering due to new laws is proof that there’s nothing “pro-life” about the GOP.

The Republican-controlled Legislature isn’t going full-on forced birth. Instead, lawmakers are proposing to restrict abortion to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. They at least recognized that banning abortion is unpopular with voters in the state; Civiqs polling shows that 56% of the state’s voters want abortion to be legal in all or most cases. Forced-birth advocates had been pushing for a six-week ban and the 12-week ban was a compromise they have the gall to call “pro-woman” because it allows for exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and when the health of the mother is at stake. They were being extra generous in allowing the procedure for lethal fetal anomalies through 24 weeks.

All of which is demonstrably unnecessary, because 93% of abortions occur in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to the CDC. A vanishingly small number occur at more than 20 weeks, mostly because of serious pregnancy complications. The ban being proposed by North Carolina Republicans won’t make a demonstrable difference, except in making the statement that they believe women’s rights should be curtailed. A more nefarious purpose that can’t be ruled out is that they are doing it to sow confusion and prevent more people, in and out of the state, from seeking abortions.