North Carolina has become the latest state to pass a bill designed to protect pre-born babies and their mothers. S.B. 53, signed into law July 26 by Governor Pat McCrory, implements a number of measures that pro-life activists say will mean fewer abortions in the state and a safer environment for pregnant women.
Specifically, the pro-life legislation will:
• Allow the state to opt out of including abortion in the federal healthcare exchange as well as in city and county health plans (except for cases of rape and when an expectant mother’s life is supposedly in danger). According to a 2011 CNN survey, 61 percent of Americans oppose the use of public funds for abortion.
• Prohibit abortion procedures based on sex selection. A recent poll found that 85 percent of Americans oppose the ghoulish practice of aborting babies based on sex, meaning that even some “pro-choice” Americans think killing pre-born children based on their gender is a choice no one should be able to make.
• Require that abortionists be physically present when an abortion takes place — including when abortion-inducing drugs such as RU-486 are administered to a patient. This measure was implemented to put a stop to the increasing incidence of “web cam” abortions, during which an abortionists does his deadly business remotely, giving orders and consulting with patients via streaming video conferencing.
• Require that abortion clinics meet certain safety standards similar to those required for ambulatory surgical centers.
• Expand to “any other health care provider” the protections now given to doctors and nurses who refuse to participate in abortions.
“Thousands of unborn children’s lives will be protected from abortion by preventing the expansion of tax payer funded abortion through the federal [ObamaCare] exchange,” noted Barbara Holt, president of North Carolina Right to Life. “By passing this legislation, our state has also demonstrated that it will not tolerate unborn babies being aborted just because they are the wrong sex, or doctors being miles away from the patient when they administer drugs that kill the unborn baby and can harm the child’s mother.”
Thus far this year state legislatures have passed more than 50 pro-life measures, including some of the most restrictive abortion bans on the books. Earlier this year, for example, North Dakota passed a measure banning abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, and several states have passed bans on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Overall, there appears to be growing support across America for legislation designed to curtail abortion. “A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 56 percent support restricting abortion after 20 weeks,” reported CBN News. “Another 10 percent of those surveyed would prefer to outlaw abortion in the United States altogether or limit it earlier than 20 weeks after fertilization. More than half — 54 percent — say they oppose state laws that make it more difficult for abortion clinics to operate compared to 45 percent who support such legislation…. Meanwhile, 55 percent of respondents say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.”
Photo: North Carolina State Capitol Building
