North Carolina healthcare providers sued the state, arguing that a number of the state’s abortion ban’s provisions are unconstitutional.
The action was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Beverly Gray, a doctor, and Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of North Carolina Abortion Ban
The lawsuit contests the legality of North Carolina Senate Bill 20, which will take effect on July 1 and prohibits the majority of abortions in the state after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The plaintiffs are requesting that the court halt the bill’s implementation.
The attorney general, the secretary of the North Carolina Board of Nursing, and other individuals are named as defendants in the complaint.
The lawsuit dissects the statute and highlights a number of purported grammatical inconsistencies and instances where the law might be ambiguous.
The plaintiffs in the case stated that less than 72 hours had passed between the introduction of the measure and its passage, which they claim would be the required minimum time in North Carolina before an abortion.
Right now, abortion is permissible up to week 20 of pregnancy. Legislators opted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Bill 20, which would have tightened restrictions on access to abortions.
Also, the proposed bill would prohibit medical abortions 10 weeks or later.
“The Supreme Court’s decision did not insulate abortion restrictions from court review if, as here, those restrictions are vague, impossible to comply with, irrational, inflict a high risk of suffering and death for no legitimate governmental purpose, and potentially violate the First Amendment,” the plaintiffs claimed, despite the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the federal right to an abortion.
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Law Faces Legal Challenge Over Restrictive Provisions
The governor’s veto of Bill 20, which would have increased limitations on access to abortions, was overridden by lawmakers. The proposed legislation would also outlaw medical abortions performed beyond 10 weeks.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning the federal right to an abortion, the plaintiffs argued that the decision did not shield abortion restrictions from judicial review if, as in this case, they are ambiguous, impossible to follow, irrational, inflict a high risk of suffering and death for no justifiable governmental purpose, and possibly violate the First Amendment.
However, proponents of abortion rights claim that the bill is much more restrictive than the 12-week headline-grabbing limit suggests due to restrictions on those exceptions as well as new barriers for patients and providers.
The lawsuit contests a rule that sexual assault victims who need abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy must go to a hospital rather than one of the numerous clinics run by Planned Parenthood and other providers throughout the state.
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