Will a Late-Term Abortion Bill be coming to North Carolina soon? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    In 2017, top North Carolina Democrats Rep. Meyer, Rep. Fischer, Rep. Cunningham, Sen. Chaudhuri, Sen. Van Duyn, and Sen. Woodard sponsored a bill called the "Whole Woman's Health Act" that sought to remove most of the state's protections for women and children on abortion.

    Like the efforts by Democrats and Governors in New York, Virginia, and Rhode Island, the bill allows for physicians to perform abortions up to the point of birth.

    Current law in North Carolina only allows abortions prior to 20 weeks if they are performed by a licensed physician. Abortions after 20 weeks may only occur in the event where a physician determines there is a "medical emergency" where the life of the mother is in danger. The conditions leading to these incidents must also be reported to the state.

    The North Carolina ACLU has stated it plans to "continue to build support for the Whole Woman's Health Act in the years to come." Given the recent efforts of Democrats in states like New York and Virginia to pass legislation allowing the abortion of babies minutes before birth, and given their tenacity until they reach effective numbers in their state legislative bodies, is it possible that we may see such a heinous bill here in North Carolina should Republicans continue to lose seats in the General Assembly? Certainly, our priority must be to get a good conservative Republican elected as our Governor ... And guess what? We have one fitting that very description running against Cooper in 2020.. Our very own Dan Forest, currently the Lieutenant Governor.

    Although abortion is one of the safest surgical procedures for women in the United States, no one should dismiss it as a simple harmless procedure that amounts to nothing more than a mere inconvenience and a doctor's visit. The fact is that a girl or a woman will carry that choice with her for her entire life, always consciously wondering if she took a life or just evicted a ball of cells from her uterus. The comment "Life begins at conception" will always haunt her ... that is, if she has a conscience.

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    What we need to focus on is the fact that diligent birth control is the most effective way to prevent a pregnancy. In analyzing the population (US) of those who have had an abortion, the overwhelming majority had sex without using birth control. A small percent did not think they would get pregnant so they opted against birth control, and another small minority were those who just started using contraception in the month they became pregnant.

    Since recognizing a woman's constitutional right to abortion in 1973 in Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court has in subsequent decisions reaffirmed that right. The Court has held that a state cannot ban abortion before viability (the point at which a fetus can survive outside the uterus), and that any restriction on abortion after viability must contain exceptions to protect the life and health of the woman. Furthermore, any previability abortion restriction cannot create an "undue burden" on a woman seeking an abortion. This "undue burden" standard was established in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 and clarified in the 2016 decision in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. The latter held that scientific evidence must be considered when evaluating the constitutionality of abortion restrictions. Some of the most common state-level abortion restrictions are parental notification or consent requirements for minors, limitations on public funding, mandated counseling designed to dissuade a woman from obtaining an abortion, a mandated waiting period before an abortion, and unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations on abortion facilities.

    Since 2010, the U.S. abortion landscape has grown increasingly restrictive as more states become hostile to abortion rights. Between 2010 and 2016, states enacted 338 new abortion restrictions, which account for nearly 30% of the 1,142 abortion restrictions enacted by states since the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.

    In North Carolina, the following restrictions on abortion were in effect as of May 1, 2018:

        •  A woman must receive state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage her from having an abortion, and then wait 72 hours before the procedure is provided.

        •  Health plans offered in the state's health exchange under the Affordable Care Act can only cover abortion if the woman's life is endangered, or in cases of rape or incest.

        •  Abortion is covered in insurance policies for public employees only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.

        •  The parent of a minor must consent before an abortion is provided.

        •  Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.

        •  A woman must undergo an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion.

        •  The state prohibits abortions performed for the purpose of sex selection.

    You can see why these restrictions would be unsatisfactory to Democrats. Women all over the country enjoy such an expansive right over their bodies that it includes the right to kill their unborn babies. They are going to want the same thing here in North Carolina.

    BUT WE MUST NEVER LET THAT HAPPEN.

    Support your Republican lawmakers, get involved in the politics of our great state, and RUN FOREST, RUN !!!
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Report: January Beaufort County Commissioners Diane's Rants, Local News & Expression, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics 2019 Annual Reagan Day Dinner


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