Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Democrats are doubling down on their commitment to protecting the right to safe, legal abortion in North Carolina.
President Biden and Democrats are committed to fighting to make sure everyone has the power to control their own bodies, lives, and futures. But the reported Supreme Court draft opinion to strike down Roe vs. Wade is the result of the GOP’s unrelenting, radical war on health care and the right to choose.
“This is what happens when we do not take responsibility or believe our votes count,” says Bobbie Richardson, chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. “The consequences of the Trump election are that he was able to appoint three judges to the Supreme Court. Had the election turned out differently, this decision might not be hanging over our heads.”
Right now, Democrats in the state legislature hold enough seats to uphold a veto by Gov. Cooper if the General Assembly passes bills to limit or eliminate access to abortion. But the margins are slim. A veto override in North Carolina requires the votes of three-fifths of the members of each chamber. In the state House, that means 72 of the 120 members; and in the Senate, 30 of 50 members. Currently, the GOP holds 69 seats in the House and 28 seats in the Senate.
“There is only one way to protect our reproductive freedom and ensure everyone has the right to make their own health care decisions,” Richardson said. “Elect Democrats up and down the ballot.”