From Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia Statement on Passage of North Carolina ‘Monster Abortion Ban’
Virginia becomes one of the last states in the South without an extreme abortion ban on the books
[Richmond, Va.] –Tonight, the North Carolina Legislature overrode Governor Cooper’s veto to pass a monster abortion ban that will ban abortion after 12 weeks, introduce an obstacle course of medically unnecessary barriers to abortion early in pregnancy and opens the door to health center closures throughout the state. The main provisions of this monster abortion ban will take effect on July 1 and any potential new licensing requirements that could lead abortion providers to being forced to close would go into effect after October 1.
This deeply unpopular law will leave pregnant people who seek abortion care with bleak options: leave the state, be forced to carry a pregnancy to term or be forced to self-manage their own abortion. Despite polling released last week indicating that the majority of people in the United States still support abortion rights, Senate Bill 20 is part of a nationwide campaign by anti-abortion extremists to ban abortion throughout the United States, and it will have devastating impacts on all communities.
Jamie Lockhart, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:
“This is a crisis moment for North Carolinians and everyone trying to access abortion care in the South. This dangerous ban will lead to substandard health care, higher maternal and infant mortality rates, and more people forced to carry a pregnancy and give birth against their will. This ban on abortion will especially harm people who live in rural areas, people working to make ends meet, and people who historically lack access to affordable health care, like people of color, young people, and people who are LGBTQ.
It is also a terrifying reminder of just how close Virginia is to similarly banning abortion. Like North Carolina was, we are one election away from banning access to abortion. Virginians are going to have to fight like hell to protect our reproductive rights.
The Supreme Court has left abortion rights up to the states to defend, and we know that anti-abortion extremists like Governor Youngkin will stop at nothing until they’ve banned abortion outright. It’s up to us to defend it ourselves by ensuring candidates who will protect reproductive freedom win majorities in the General Assembly this year. That starts with the election of Lashrecse Aird over the one anti-abortion Democrat in the Virginia State Senate on June 20th so that he doesn’t have the opportunity to vote to ban abortion here.
People in many different circumstances need access to abortion, and no one should make these personal decisions for someone else — especially not politicians. Everyone should be able to make decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures without interference from politicians.”
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia (PPAV) is a statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to preserve and broaden access to reproductive health care through legislation, public education, electoral activity and litigation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. PPAV works to ensure that individuals and families have the freedom, information, and ability to make their own informed reproductive choices.
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