With the Governor's veto of
a more restrictive abortion
ban falling with a vote in the
Senate and then in the House,
North Carolina Republicans have
overridden Governor Roy Cooper's
veto of Senate Bill 20.
The 12 week abortion ban will
become law July 1st. The
votes tonight in the Senate and then
the House fell along party lines,
some lawmakers sharing personal
stories and health professionals
on both sides of the aisle weighing
in on the measure. Take a listen.
When I read this language of Senate Bill 20,
all I see is the removal of the
God-given right for myself and folks
like me to make decisions for ourselves.
That's all I see. The ability to choose
what's best for us has been removed for us.
I stand as a mother.
I stand as a physician and as a physician.
I took an oath. That oath is a duty.
It is a duty to first do no harm.
Now, more recently, we have seen
some in the business community
stepping forward to urge state
leaders to step away from this ban.
WCNC Charlotte's Colin Mayfield
spoke with a local brewery.
It was one of more than 200 businesses
to sign a letter asking Republicans
to reconsider pushing this bill.
Colin, what's the reaction tonight?
Yeah, well, in one word,
disappointment from some of the
businesses I spoke with and one
in particular who didn't want to
see this happen in North Carolina,
high wire Brewings Chief cultural
officer tells me this was the
day they hoped would never come
question before the House is
the motion that Senate Bill 20
become law notwithstanding the
objections of the governor.
All those in favor will vote aye.
All of those opposed will vote no.
The Clerk will open the vote.
The Senate and House cast their vote today,
flexing their supermajority power,
overriding Governor Cooper's
veto of Senate Bill 20.
There was emotional back and
forth before the vote in the House
pushing SB-20 into law come July
1st with 72 yeas and 48 nays.
The motion carries, having passed
by the requisite 3 fifth vote.
The House has overridden the governor's
veto and the bill becomes law, that
vote drawing sharp criticism from
some watching in the chamber.
That feeling resonates with business
owners from high wire brewing who
never wanted this bill to become law.
It's putting. A bit of an undue
burden on the businesses that care,
Tacker says. While her employees and
community are first and foremost,
the brewery doesn't think this
is good for the people of North
Carolina or its business interests.
It's just disappointing, really.
I'd like to think that the people
that are in control would listen to
their constituents and care for what?
Is in their best interest.
It's a feeling that's shared
for pro-choice North Carolina
Executive Director Tara Romano.
We know this is a bad bill.
We know that this is an unpopular bill,
and we were really, really disappointed
to see that this is the way that
some lawmakers decide to go.
However, there are those
who support the move,
including Representative Tricia Cotham,
who switched from Democrat to Republican.
Gave the GOP the supermajority they needed
in both chambers to make this happen.
She released a statement saying, in part.
Some call me a hypocrite.
Since I voted for this bill.
I had an ectopic pregnancy that
sadly ended in a miscarriage,
not an elective abortion.
In fact, Senate Bill 20 affirms
the lifesaving care I received
in that dire situation.
It was very important to me that
this legislation protects all
women going through a miscarriage
or other complications,
and it most certainly does.
During the House debate,
Democrats spoke about the 72 hours that
they were apparently given this bill
and felt that it was rushed through.
A moot point now at this point
as it will become law July 1st,
as we noted here.
Fred, Vanessa, back to you,
Colin. Thank you.
And we did speak with Davidson College
political science professor Susan Roberts
following tonight's veto override.
She has studied reproductive
politics specifically for a decade
and she says abortion rights have
certainly reemerged recently
as a marquee political issue.
And says what?
What happened tonight signals how
this topic will color elections to
come on a national level and locally.
People are going to start paying more
attention to the State House and the down
ballot races than they ever had before.
As you see more and more momentum now
and passing restrictions in red states,
I think you're going to see.
Republicans feel empowered that this
is something that there's a trend and
they may be reading the tea leaves,
but I think they see this as an opportunity
to further an agenda that is conservative.
This is going to be, I think,
more firmly the issue for the
general election coming up.
And so, as you heard, there are a lot
of passionate folks sounding off on
this abortion debate on both sides
and even with this latest bill here.
Soon to become law, the issue is far
from over. We have more coverage.
You can catch up right now on our website,
including this article here with a closer
look at the details of this legislation.