While access to abortion remains legal in North Carolina, we know that access is in jeopardy from anti-abortion lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly. While voters were able to prevent an anti-abortion supermajority from taking hold in the North Carolina House, we still saw critical losses for reproductive rights and freedoms in the races for the North Carolina Senate and the North Carolina State Supreme Court. The future of reproductive freedom in our state is unclear.
What is clear, however, is that the fight to protect abortion access and reproductive health care for all North Carolinians is not over! As we’ve seen in public opinion polls and at pro-choice rallies across the state, the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians support legal abortion access and want politicians to stop interfering in our personal healthcare decisions.
Today, and everyday, we will continue fighting for abortion access for all who need it, ensuring people across North Carolina can get this vital healthcare when they need it and in the communities where they live. We know anti-abortion lawmakers in our state legislature will attempt to pass unnecessary and harmful bans to criminalize abortion when they begin their 2023 legislative session. These attempts will put the health and lives at risk of not just of those seeking abortion, but also those who experience pregnancy complications, high risk maternity patients, survivors of sexual assault, and those living with chronic conditions that can be impacted by pregnancy. We’ve seen it happen in other states where abortion is banned, and we know it can happen here.
Our focus remains on the people who are most harmed by abortion restrictions and bans—Black and Brown people, young people, LGBTQ+ North Carolinians, immigrants, and people in rural North Carolina communities—and who need our support and care. We will continue supporting the decisions and needs of our communities, with material support, with advocacy at all levels of government, and with love and compassion for each other.
We will never stop fighting for everyone who needs abortion care, nor for those who stand up for the freedom to make personal reproductive health care decisions for themselves!