North Carolina abortion ban to become law after legislators override Gov. Cooper’s veto

RALEIGH, N.C. — Legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy will become law in North Carolina after the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly successfully overrode the Democratic governor’s veto late Tuesday.

The House completed the second and final part of the override Tuesday night after a similar three-fifths majority voted for the override earlier Tuesday in the Senate. The outcome represents a major victory for Republican legislative leaders who needed every GOP member on board to enact the law over Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition.

Cooper vetoed the measure over the weekend in an unconventionally public ceremony after spending last week traveling around the state to convince at least one Republican to uphold his expected veto. Republicans have pitched the measure as a middle-ground change to state law, which currently bans nearly all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape or incest.

Cooper’s veto power diminished greatly when a former House Democrat switched parties earlier this year.

North Carolina law currently bans nearly all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, without exceptions for rape or incest. Starting July 1, the restriction will be tightened to 12 weeks. It also will place limits on new exceptions, capping abortions at 20 weeks in cases of rape or incest and 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies, including certain physical or genetic disorders that can be diagnosed prenatally.