North Carolina’s Republican-controlled state Senate on Thursday passed legislation that would ban most abortions after 12 weeks.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has vowed to veto the bill, but the GOP supermajority in the legislature can override him.
The measure sped through the legislature this week, passing both chambers on party-line votes less than 48 hours after being introduced. The state House had advanced the bill on Wednesday after it was introduced Tuesday night.
Cooper has previously said he plans to veto the “extreme” legislation, but if all members vote along party lines, North Carolina’s Republican state legislators have enough votes in both chambers to override any veto from Cooper.
North Carolina Republicans gained a veto-proof supermajority last month then-Democratic state Rep. Tricia Cotham switched parties. Cotham, who campaigned in favor of abortion rights as a Democrat, voted for the bill. She also sponsored legislation earlier this session to codify Roe v. Wade.
In March, the state legislature overrode the governor’s veto on a bill that now makes it legal to purchase a gun without a permit in the state.
Cooper, in a statement on Twitter Wednesday, said he would veto “this extreme ban.” “Don’t let this so called 12 week abortion ban fool you. It will effectively ban access to reproductive freedom earlier and sometimes altogether for many women because of the restrictions and requirements. This is why Republicans are ramming it through with no chance to amend.”
CNN has reached out to Cooper’s office and the state House speaker’s office for comment.
Senate Bill 20, dubbed the “Care for Women, Children and Families Act,” would ban any licensed physician from performing surgical abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy. It would provide exceptions in the case of rape and…
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