Both chambers of the North Carolina general assembly voted to override Governor Roy Cooper’s (D.) veto of a twelve-week abortion ban.
The senate voted 30 t0 20 in favor of the override and the house voted 72 to 48. A three-fifths majority was needed in both chambers to push the limit through. Chants of “Shame! Shame!” erupted from protestors in the house gallery once the override was sealed.
The abortion limit was pitched as a compromise by Republicans who have been negotiating the details for months. The limit will now be moved from the 20-week mark to the twelfth week. Between the twelfth and 20th weeks, women can still obtain an abortion in the case of rape or incest. There is also an exception for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies up to the 24th week.
The ban is less restrictive than others that have been passed recently. In mid-April, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a six-week abortion limit into law. Later in the month, North Dakota governor Doug Burgum signed into law a near-total abortion ban.
The governor attempted to pressure four moderate Republicans to vote against the override, citing campaign promises they had made. One of them was Representative Tricia Cotham, who made national news for switching to the Republican Party from the Democratic, giving the GOP a house supermajority.
Cooper has condemned the ban as “standing in the way of progress” and he reemphasized his opposition in a statement after the vote. “I will continue doing everything I can to protect abortion access in North Carolina because women’s lives depend on it,” Cooper said.
Cotham released a statement explaining her support of the the override shortly after the vote. “After an extensive review, I believe this bill strikes a reasonable balance on the abortion issue and represents a middle ground that anyone not holding one of the two extremist positions can support,” she wrote.
Cotham added that the bill contains protections for women going through a miscarriage and that this was important for her because she had an ectopic pregnancy in the past.