Democrat North Carolina Governor Vetoes 12-Week Abortion Ban

North Carolina Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed legislation on Saturday that would protect unborn babies from abortion after 12 weeks of gestation. 

Cooper vetoed the bill in an “unconventionally public display” in front of a crowd of pro-abortion activists and voters at the plaza in the capital of Raleigh, the Associated Press reported. Current state law restricts most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. 

“The veto launches a major test for leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly to attempt an override vote after they recently gained veto-proof majorities in both chambers,” according to the report. “The bill was the Republican response to last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.“

Cooper told the crowd that Democrats are “going to have to kick it into an even higher gear when that veto stamp comes down.” 

“If just one Republican in either the House or the Senate keeps a campaign promise to protect women’s reproductive health, we can stop this ban,” Cooper said. 

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic NC tweeted in celebration of the veto, calling Cooper a “champion for reproductive freedom” and labeling the pro-life law a “monster abortion ban.”

Champion for reproductive freedom, @NC_Governor, here to veto Senate Bill 20, the monster abortion ban. 👏👏 #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/nRPvqCxGEr

— PP South Atlantic NC (@PPSATNC) May 13, 2023

On Saturday, Senate leader Phil Berger (R) accused the governor of “feeding the public lies” and “bullying” state Republicans in an attempt to block the bill. 

“I look forward to promptly overriding his veto,” Berger said in a statement.

The pro-life legislation outlaws abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy but extends the limit through 20 weeks for rape and incest and through 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies.

“Republicans have pitched the measure as a middle-ground change to state abortion laws developed after months of private negotiations between House and Senate GOP members,” according to the report. 

Caitlin Connors, southern regional director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, accused Cooper of “sid[ing] with the abortion industry over the people.” 

“During his tour targeting legislators to uphold his veto, the Governor made it abundantly clear who he was representing by holding a panel with the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood and the owner of another abortion facility,” Connors alleged in an emailed statement.

“It’s alarming that on Mother’s Day weekend, the leader of the purple state of North Carolina is using his political power to serve the financial interests of abortion executives rather than to represent the consensus on late-term abortions, establish paid parental leave for teachers, and establish a game-changing amount of funding for childcare,” she continued. 

“We thank legislators for standing with 62 percent of North Carolinians against Gov. Cooper’s Planned Parenthood-driven agenda to deny the protection of life for babies at the point when they resemble mom or dad, their heart has beat more than 10 million times, and they respond to touch,” she added, citing a recent poll commissioned by the pro-life organization.

 According to scientific research compiled by the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, an unborn baby at 12 weeks of gestation has formed all major organs, and its heart has beat more than ten million times. Babies at this stage also suck their thumbs, have a right-hand or left-hand preference, have dominant facial features, and their bodies respond to touch. 

“If one follows the science, it’s clear that preborn children at 12 weeks’ gestation are already amazingly complex human beings,” the institute states. “…To minimize or ignore the humanity of the 12-week-gestation fetus is to deny the clear and compelling evidence of science.”