NC abortion ban bill: What's in it, who filed it, more
A group of Republicans has filed a new bill in the North Carolina House that could potentially ban legal abortion in the state except as necessary to save a mother’s life.
If this bill, deemed House Bill 533, goes through it would ban abortion processes except in cases of spontaneous abortion of the fetus or an ectopic pregnancy. And anyone who would receive or perform an abortion in the state except for those reasons would face felony criminal charges along with a hefty fine.
The bill comes in response to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, like many across the nation, and as other states look to limit the scope of time that an abortion could be had to even ban them altogether.
What does the proposed NC abortion ban include?
House Bill 533, also known as "The Human Life Protection Act of 2023", would ban all abortion starting at conception except for spontaneous abortion or an ectopic pregnancy. And even then there are specifications on how these exceptions are carried out.
If not followed in the bill, a person could face a Class B2 felony charge for any action prohibited in the bill that “results in the death of an unborn child." Along with civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation and disciplinary action that includes the removal of medical licenses.
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North Carolina's current abortion law
After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, North Carolina was one of a handful of states in the South that did not have a trigger law that went into effect as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision.
Currently, the state's abortion law allows the procedure to occur up to 20 weeks.
Limiting the scope of abortions in North Carolina
Republicans have been pushing to limit the scope of when abortions could be performed.
In August 2022, top Republican, Senate Leader Phil Berger, of Rockingham, said he would prefer to have approved restrictions on abortion after roughly the first three months of pregnancy, according to the Associated Press.
“I would say that after the first trimester, the state has an absolute interest in regulating the incidence of abortion,” Berger told reporters at that time.
Cleveland County Republican and House Speaker Tim Moore stated at the time that he personally supports legislation that would ban abortions once a fetal cardiac activity is first detected by ultrasound. That is typically around six weeks after fertilization and before some patients even know they are pregnant.
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Who filed the NC bill to ban abortion?
House Bill 533 was filed by NC Rep. Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort) – the primary sponsor – Rep. Ben Moss (R-Moore), Rep. Edward Goodwin (R-Chowan) and Rep. Kevin Crutchfield (R-Cabarrus).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Joyce Orlando is an Audience Specialist with the South Region Audience Team out of The Tennessean. She can be reached at jorlando@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC abortion ban bill introduced by GOP: What's in it, who filed, more
