RALEIGH, N.C. - This morning, the N.C. Senate passed HB 453, legislation that would ban abortions based on the reasons informing a person’s decision to terminate pregnancy. The bill now advances to the Governor’s desk to be vetoed or signed into law. The ACLU of NC has sent a letter to Governor Cooper, urging him to veto this legislation that will curtail abortion access.
HB 453, like other “reason ban” legislation, intervenes in the relationship between patients and their doctors and challenges their discretion in medical decision-making.
Liz Barber, policy analyst for the ACLU of North Carolina issued the following statement:
“HB 453 flies in the face of racial justice and disability rights and casts a person’s reproductive decisions as discrimination to stigmatize abortion. This legislation presents an unconstitutional ban on abortions before viability and limits people’s access to care based on the government’s moral judgments on personal decisions. Every federal court to consider the question agrees that a state cannot ban abortions based on a patient's reason.
“Each and every North Carolinian has the freedom to define their own path, including the right to decide if and when one wants to become a parent. We call on Governor Cooper to veto HB 453 to protect this right.”