The state legislature recently passed Senate Bill 20, a measure banning abortion at and after 12 weeks into pregnancy. But then, the day before Mother's Day, Governor Roy Cooper (D) vetoed it, saying it would create "medically unnecessary obstacles" and a "dangerous interface with the doctor-patient relationship, leading to harm for pregnant women and their families."
Now, Dr. Bill Pincus of North Carolina Right to Life says they are counting votes for a possible override attempt.
"In the North Carolina Senate, there are 30 Republican senators, which is a veto-proof majority out of the 50," he reports. "In the House, there are 72 Republican House members, which is also veto-proof."
But with the Cooper administration pressuring several of them to change their votes, Dr. Pincus says it will be a close call.
"If the Republicans hold together, then the override should go through," he notes. "But the governor has targeted three House members and one Senate member specifically, calling them out by name, and so we're calling them and begging them and asking them to please support the override vote."
Senate leader Phil Berger (R) accused Gov. Cooper on Saturday of "feeding the public lies" and "bullying" his fellow Republicans to block the legislation. "I look forward to promptly overriding his veto," he said in a statement.
Abortions in the state are limited to 20 weeks currently, or five months into a pregnancy. If the override is successful, the limit will move up to 12 weeks, only extending the limit through 20 weeks for rape and incest and through 24 weeks for "life-limiting" fetal anomalies.
In Kansas, lawmakers have been successful with pro-life legislation this session, in spite of their extremely pro-abortion governor.
In the final countdown for a legislative session that has ended, legislators passed a bill that would have provided a financial boost to pro-life pregnancy help centers.
Danielle Underwood of Kansans for Life tells AFN Governor Laura Kelly (D) was not happy about that.
"Governor Kelly vetoed the tax bill that contained, among 17 other provisions, a tax credit for donors to pregnancy resource centers that offer free help to women facing unexpected pregnancies," Underwood reports. "In fact, this session, Governor Kelly vetoed every pro-life protection legislators sent to her desk."
She says that put the governor's extreme position on display. And in this case, there is no chance for a veto override.
"Unfortunately, legislators ran out of time for further action to address the situation on the tax credit, making it unlikely that it's going to be able to move forward this year," the pro-lifer laments. "But the biggest news this session wasn't Governor Kelly's heartless vetoes. It was the successful veto overrides of three pro-life bills."
Those pro-life veto overrides were the first of their kind in Kansas history.
