RALEIGH - The North Carolina General Assembly has filed HB533, legislation that would ban abortion. Like other civil rights and reproductive justice organizations, the ACLU has braced for attacks on abortion in North Carolina after the U.S. Supreme Court issued their decision on Dobbs v. Jackson in June of 2022 by mobilizing supporters across the state and engaging business leaders around the harms of banning abortion.
Senior Policy Counsel Liz Barber issued the following statement regarding the filing of HB533:
“This is the kind of attack on abortion we have feared and prepared for in North Carolina. A ban on abortion like the one put forth in this bill would put the rights, health, and well-being of millions of North Carolinians at risk. Like all anti-abortion legislation, this bill threatens our right to control our own bodies, our economic security, and the visions we have for our futures. No one should be forced to carry a pregnancy to term and give birth against their will.”
“We know that banning abortion is deeply unpopular in North Carolina and together, we can defeat this harmful ban and every attack on our reproductive freedom. We need each and every community member to demand that their legislators vote against this bill and protect North Carolinians’ freedom to decide if and when to have a child.”
The ACLU of NC condemns forced pregnancy, which impacts anybody seeking reproductive care and eliminates bodily freedom. The harms of forced pregnancy and restrictive reproductive legislation are disproportionately experienced by already marginalized communities, including Black, Brown, low-income, and/or LGBTQIA people. Being denied an abortion can have devastating economic consequences and drive people deeper into poverty. When people can make decisions about whether and when to have a child, they have more control over their economic security. The ACLU maintains its commitment to the most vulnerable and will continue to monitor and challenge HB533.
