Abortion advocates, opponents rally in downtown Raleigh as election year heats up

There were dueling rallies in downtown Raleigh dealing with abortion. It all comes as North Carolina is set to play a pivotal role in the fall's election.

North Carolina already got national attention after Republican lawmakers approved last year's new abortion law after Roe v Wade was overturned setting the limit at 12 weeks instead of 20 weeks.

But some of the anti-abortion advocates said they believe the state should go further.

Gathering on Halifax Mall, North Carolina Right to Life, joined by the head of their national counterpart who says to her, the 12 week ban that passed last year is only a starting point.

"Roughly 90 percent of abortions still occur before that time, by 12 weeks you have a fully formed body there's no way anyone could say that's not a human that should be protected," says Carol Tobias with the National Right to Life.

She says right now, in the post-Roe era, her group's efforts are aimed at the state level because right now she doesn't see a national abortion ban happening anytime soon.

"We're not ready for that yet, the country is way too divided," she says.

In the meantime, North Carolina remains the only state in the region with some level of access, and the Triangle Abortion Access Coalition says providers here are already getting overwhelmed with out of state patients

"There have been stories of people having to flee other states to North Carolina to receive life-saving care and if we have the bans go any further in North Carolina then those people from out of state are going to have to go even further," says Taylor, with Triangle Abortion Access Coalition.

They say they're bracing for more restrictions, depending on who gets into office, and believe abortion will be a motivating factor for voters.

"Absolutely, it's going to go further than what it is now if they get the opportunity," she says.

As it stands right now, it doesn't appear there will any further restrictions on abortion this legislative session. But things could change as the politics might be different in 2025 depending on the results of the presidential race and the race for North Carolina Governor.

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