RALEIGH, NC – March 15, 2023 – On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court reversed the 50-year-old law Roe v. Wade. The Court said that a woman did not have a constitutional right to abortion and reproductive health and turned decision-making over to each state. Half of the states restricted abortion access.
There were more medically-induced abortions in the U.S. and in North Carolina than by surgery. However, nineteen states, including North Carolina, have recently passed laws that restrict a physician’s ability to prescribe and dispense abortion drugs. The N.C. law mandates that the medicine can only be dispensed in-person following a 72-hour waiting period, after counseling, and an ultrasound in some cases. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein feels that the restrictions are preempted by U.S. Food & Drug Administration regulations that permit access to the pills.
Until July 1st, an abortion could be performed in North Carolina up to 20 weeks after fertilization. The state had a 37 percent increase in abortions after the court decision, driven by abortion bans in nearby states. However, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a new law banning most surgical abortions after 12 weeks and medical abortions after 10 weeks. Exceptions are rape and incest, life-limiting fetal abnormalities, and the life of the mother. Patients must make 2 trips including in-person counseling at least 72 hours before having an abortion. There were 31% fewer abortions than the previous month after the law took effect on July 1st.
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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]
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