Republicans aim to decimate abortion access in post-Roe haven states
n the months after the fall of Roe v. Wade, North Carolina experienced the largest spike in abortions of any state — its numbers fueled by a relatively permissive law and a Democratic governor promising to block the Republican-led legislature from enacting antiabortion measures.
But in recent weeks hard-liners in Raleigh have launched a plan to override a future veto and ban abortions as soon as around six weeks of pregnancy.
At the center of the effort are a handful of Democratic legislators with a history of voting for antiabortion legislation and who could now provide the GOP with enough votes to override a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper (D). That group, which includes two pastors of predominantly Black Baptist churches, is facing pressure from both sides.
“I lay down with it, I wake up with it,” said Democratic state Rep. Garland Pierce, who leads the congregation at Bright Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Laurinburg, N.C. “When you reach deep down you want to be sure you’re doing the right thing.”
The showdown in North Carolina reflects similar efforts underway in several conservative states that have become destinations for post-Roe abortion care. In Florida and Nebraska — where laws still allow the vast majority of abortions to continue — conservatives are also pushing for six-week bans, which, together with the same kind of ban in North Carolina, could dramatically reshape the national abortion landscape once again.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/03/north-carolina-florida-nebraska-abortion-roe-desantis/
= new reply since forum marked as read
