RALEIGH — On Friday, Gov. Roy Cooper released the following statement following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“For 50 years, women have relied on their constitutional right to make their own medical decisions, but today that right has been tragically ripped away. That means it’s now up to the states to determine whether women get reproductive health care, and in North Carolina they still can. I will continue to trust women to make their own medical decisions as we fight to keep politicians out of the doctor’s exam room.”
The court’s overturning of the landmark court ruling is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
The ruling was the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents, made possible by three appointees of former President Donald Trump.
“It’s a sad day for the court and for the country,” said President Joe Biden. He urged voters to make it a defining issue in the November elections, declaring, “This decision must not be the final word.”
North Carolina Republican legislative leaders asked Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein on Friday to act so a state law banning nearly all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy can be enforced.