Reproductive Healthcare in North Carolina
Healthy and Safe Pregnancies
We support the right of people to carry a pregnancy safely to term with full access to quality and affordable prenatal, maternity, and postpartum care.
Maternal and infant mortality rates are much higher in North Carolina, particularly for Black women and Black pregnant people, than they are in many other states. We believe one step to reducing maternal and infant mortality is providing all people with access to affordable health care, and we support the protection of the Affordable Care Act and the expansion of Medicaid in North Carolina.
Anti-abortion lawmakers and special interest groups not only want to take away our rights to our bodies and healthcare decisions, they also refuse to help people who choose to continue their pregnancies. That hypocrisy cannot be left unchallenged, and there is a great deal we can do to support healthy pregnancies:
- Quality and accessible prenatal and postpartum care is critical and one of the best ways to achieve a healthy pregnancy and optimal birth outcomes.
- Many people also need additional help accessing reproductive health care, and that’s why we advocate for expanding Medicaid and supporting family-planning programs that provide comprehensive care.
- Individuals and couples who choose adoption, surrogacy and IVF also need access to support and resources.
- Reproductive coercion–in which an abusive partner forces reproductive choices, including pregnancy and abortion, on their partner–is a serious issue for too many people. Access to supportive and trained health care professionals and adequately resourced domestic/intimate partner violence programs can help keep survivors of abuse who are pregnant safer.
- We also support access to quality and affordable child care, something that is lacking for too many families in North Carolina.
Pregnancy Discrimination
North Carolina is one of only five states that does not have protections for pregnant workers beyond the federal law. Fortunately a strong federal law passed in 2023-the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act-that provides this protection. It is shameful, however, that North Carolina legislative leadership had refused advocates' efforts to create a robust state law for over a decade, as protecting pregnant workers is a family value.
