North Carolina’s Republican-dominated General Assembly has successfully overruled a veto from Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, to enact legislation that severely restricts abortions beyond 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The law, which will come into effect from July 1, is a momentous triumph for Republican legislators who needed unanimous GOP support to overcome the Governor’s opposition, according to The Associated Press (AP).
The new legislation modifies existing North Carolina law, which until now prohibited most abortions after 20 weeks, with no allowances for cases of rape or incest.
Exceptions have been made in the law for instances of rape or incest, allowing abortions up to 20 weeks in such cases.
The law also allows for termination within the first 24 weeks if there are “life-limiting” fetal anomalies.
Republican lawmakers presented the bill as a moderate adjustment, positioning the state as a frontrunner in the growing trend of tightening abortion regulations across the United States.
The pre-existing provision that permits an abortion when the mother’s life is at risk will remain unchanged.
The final phase of the override process was completed in the House after a three-fifths majority, the necessary fraction for a successful override, was achieved in a Senate vote earlier on Tuesday, AP notes.
The vote was split along party lines, with every GOP member needed to pass the law against Gov. Cooper’s veto.
The Governor had vetoed the bill over the weekend, having spent the previous week traversing the state to convince at least one Republican to maintain his veto, which would have been sufficient to prevent the override.
However, his efforts were in vain as all four Republicans he approached, including a recent convert from the Democratic Party, voted for the override.
“Today marks the beginning of North Carolina’s first real step towards becoming a pro-life state,” said Tami Fitzgerald, the executive director of the socially conservative North Carolina Values Coalition, following the House vote.
A key factor in the successful override was the recent party switch of Mecklenburg County Rep. Tricia Cotham to the GOP, according to AP.
This shift resulted in the Republicans having the necessary numbers to override any veto in both chambers.
The political landscape around abortion rights in the U.S. continues to change significantly, made possible due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had formerly established a nationwide right to abortion.
