On June 24, 2022, Roe v Wade was overturned, causing civil unrest across the nation. Roe v Wade was the Supreme Court case that conferred the right to abortion in the U.S.
When overturned, North Carolina continued to allow abortions like before. On August 17, 2022, the NC Supreme Court ruled that abortion is no longer legal after the 20th week of pregnancy– except in “medical emergencies.”
NC Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed every abortion bill that has come to his desk in the past four years. Though, if Republicans gain 3 more seats in the House and 2 seats in the Senate, they will have enough votes to override Cooper’s veto. This could cause a vote that would put a 6-week or complete ban on abortion in NC.
There are a couple of tight races NC residents should keep an eye on. These races are in districts with close margins of Democratic and Republican voters and can decide whether abortion remains legal in NC.
NC State Senate
17th District (Wake County): Democrat Sydney Batch is up against Republican Mark Cavaliero, and Libertarian Patrick Bowersox. Batch is pro-choice, tweeting “…this is not just about abortion rights, it’s about our human rights and those rights are under attack.”
Cavaliero is anti-choice with his campaign website saying “unwanted pregnancies should be reduced through education, voluntary family planning, and contraception.”
Bowersox wants abortion laws to remain the same, at a 20-week ban.
18th District (Granville Valley County): Democrat Mary Wills Bode is up against Republican E.C Skyes, and Libertarian Ryan Brown.
Brown said, “Abortion policies, implemented without other radical changes, will have little effect at all,” and abortion should be banned at some point in the third trimester.
Skyes said, “I want North Carolina to join in on the fight to protect those who can’t fight for themselves, the preborn child.”
Bode is pro-choice, “I will work tirelessly to ensure access to reproductive health care is not banned in our state.”
NC State House
35th District (Wake Forest County): Democrat Terence Everitt is against Republican Fred Von Canon.
Canon supports the “Heartbeat Bill” or 6-week abortion ban, except in cases of rape, incest, or if the pregnant person’s life is in danger.
Everitt is pro-choice, tweeting “I oppose the politicians in D.C. and here in N.C. who are obsessed with making criminals out of women and their doctors.”
2nd District (Durham County): Democrat Ray Jeffers, is up against Republican Larry Yarborough.
Jeffers is pro-choice and endorsed by Planned Parenthood. Yarborough, on the other hand, is pro-life.
The fate of abortion in NC is ultimately in the hands of this next midterm election on November 8, 2022.
To register to vote in NC visit https://www.ncsbe.gov/registering/how-register.
