How the Roe case turned North Carolina into an abortion destination

North Carolina’s political showdown over abortion is embodied by two leaders: Democratic Governor Mr. Cooper and Tim Moore, Republican Speaker of the House.

Mr. Cooper, a former Attorney General, wants to preserve the state’s current law. He has ordered additional protections, including preventing the extradition of anyone involved in an abortion legal in North Carolina.

But Republican dominance in the legislature means the ability to veto is Mr. Cooper’s most powerful tool. “Our law in North Carolina is restrictive enough right now,” Mr. Cooper said in a February interview.

Public Polls Explain State Political Friction: A Recent One Meredith College Survey of registered voters found that 57 percent of respondents wanted to keep North Carolina’s current abortion law or expand it beyond the 20-week limit. About 35 percent of respondents supported reducing access to abortion to 15 weeks or less.

Mr Moore has said that after 12 weeks a ban – with some exceptions – is more likely to “gather the necessary support to become law”.

Mr. Moore also said in a recent podcast that a swing Democrat, whose name he would not name, was willing to vote for a 12- or 13-week restriction. This transition is potentially significant because House Republicans are one vote away from a supermajority that would allow them to override a veto.

Right now, even North Carolina residents are feeling the effects of the bans in neighboring states: when Maria, a 31-year-old who lives outside of Asheville, found out in late June that she was unexpectedly pregnant, she knew one baby was more, than she could handle. Maria, who declined to reveal her full name because her family opposed abortions, has struggled with depression and, she says, several other medical conditions.

She called the nearest abortion clinic, which is in Asheville. The waiting time, she was told, was two months. Then she called two clinics in Charlotte, about a two-hour drive away. One never answered. The other said it could take her next month. She snapped the appointment.