McCrory Declined To Comment On A Bill That Would Put Further Restrictions On Abortions Performed In North Carolina. According to NBC - 17 WNCN, “Gov. Pat McCrory declined to comment Thursday on a bill that would make significant changes to North Carolina’s abortion laws. House Bill 465 was referred to the House Health Committee on Thursday. If passed, the bill would change certain restrictions on abortions, including increasing the waiting period to get an abortion from 24 hours to 72 hours. The bill further requires the procedure be done by a licensed obstetrician or gynecologist, and it would ban abortions at the medical schools at the University of North Carolina and East Carolina or facilities owned by them. ‘I think these are common sense measures to protect women who are going through a very difficult time,’ said Rep. Susan Martin, R Wilson County, who co-sponsored the legislation along with three other House lawmakers. The bill also says no one would be required to perform an abortion if they object to the practice on moral, ethical or religious grounds.” [NBC - 17 WNCN, 4/2/15]
McCrory Signed House Bill 465 To Triple Mandatory Waiting Period For Women Seeking Abortion. According to ACLU-NC Releases, “Reproductive Justice: The House and Senate approved and Gov. McCrory signed HB 465, which tripled the mandatory waiting period for a woman seeking an abortion to 72 hours.” [ACLU-NC Releases, 10/20/15
New Republic: McCrory Had Already Broken His Campaign Promise To Not Sign New Abortion Restrictions. According to the New Republic, “Governor Pat McCrory, who long ago broke his 2010 campaign promise not to sign new abortion restrictions, is up for re-election in 2016 in a purple state. To date, he hasn’t said anything about HB 465.” [New Republic, 4/16/15]
McCrory Signed A Bill That Changed Abortion Clinic Rules In 2014, But Expressed Concerns About Anti-Abortion Legislation Put Forth In 2015. According to the Charlotte Observer, “Any final bill would be presented to Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed an abortion-related bill into law in 2014 after successfully changing abortion clinic rules. Schaffer said the McCrory administration already raised concerns about this year's measure, which previously contained a now-deleted provision related to abortions at two public medical schools.” [Charlotte Observer, 4/23/15]
After McCrory’s Administration Expressed Concerns With Restricting Access To Abortions, A Provision That Would Bar Medical Professionals At State Medical Schools From Performing Abortions Was Deleted. According to the Robesonian, “The bill’s sponsors removed a provision that would have barred medical professionals at the University of North Carolina and East Carolina University medical schools from performing abortions except in cases of rape and incest and when the woman’s life is in danger. The provision was designed to ensure taxpayer dollars weren’t used for abortion. Another bill sponsor, Rep. Jacqueline Schaffer, R-Mecklenburg, said that provision was deleted after concerns were raised by many people, including members of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration. McCrory has said in the past he was opposed to measures that would limit abortion access. McCrory’s office or the Department of Health and Health Services, which regulates abortion in the state, didn’t respond to an email Wednesday seeking comment about the change.” [Robesonian, 4/23/15]
Democrats Called On McCrory To “Move On” From Social Issues Like Abortion And North Carolina’s RFRA And Refocus On Economic Development And Jobs. According to WRAL, “As the House prepared Thursday morning to debate one of the nation's longest waiting periods for abortion, Democrats called for Republican leaders, including Gov. Pat McCrory, to refocus on economic development and jobs and ‘move on’ from social issues such as abortion and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” [WRAL, 4/23/15]
Abortion Rights Activists Rallied In Ashville, Calling On McCrory To Veto New Abortion Legislation Should It Reach His Desk. According to the Associated Press, “Abortion-rights advocates returned to the Executive Mansion on Monday to urge North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory to veto a bill, should it reach his desk, that would extend the waiting period for the procedure from 24 to 72 hours. Representatives of Planned Parenthood Action Fund in North Carolina, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and other groups held a news conference across the street from the governor's house, close to where they demonstrated two years ago about an abortion-related bill that McCrory ultimately signed.” [Associated Press, 5/11/15]
NARAL, Pro-Choice North Carolina, Planned Parenthood, And Progress North Carolina Urged McCrory To Pledge To Veto An Abortion Bill Making Its Way Through The Legislature. According to the Citizen-Times, “Abortion rights groups are planning to rally in Pack Square Park Monday evening to call on the governor to veto pending abortion legislation. The public is invited to attend. Activities are set to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the amphitheater near Roger McGuire Green, 60 Court Plaza. NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic Action Fund and Progress North Carolina Action are planning the demonstration. Their efforts are part of a multi-stop tour throughout the state. The groups are urging Governor Pat McCrory to publicly pledge to veto House Bill 465 and other restrictions that they believe would limit a woman's right to choose.” [Citizen-Times, 5/3/15]
June 2015: McCrory Pledged To Sign A Bill That Extended The Waiting Period For Abortion To 72 Hours. According to WRAL, “Gov. Pat McCrory will sign a bill into law that extends the waiting period for women seeking abortions from 24 to 72 hours. McCrory made the announcement hours after the House gave final approval to the measure.”[WRAL, 6/3/15]
McCrory Signed A Bill That Extended The Abortion Waiting Period And Required Clinics To Report Some Second Trimester Abortions
June 2015: McCrory Signed A Bill Into Law That Extended North Carolina’s Abortion Waiting Period To 72 Hours. According to WXII12.com, “Gov. Pat McCrory says he has signed legislation that makes North Carolina one of several states with 72-hour waiting periods for an abortion. […] The abortion bill requires women to talk to a doctor or other qualified professional 72 hours before having an abortion, unless there's a medical emergency. The bill adds other rules for doctors and clinics that perform abortions and includes several unrelated criminal justice measures.” [WXII12.com, 6/6/15]
Probable 2016 Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Roy Cooper Sent Out A Fundraising Email Using McCrory’s Signing Of New Abortion Legislation To Raise Money. According to the News & Observer, “Attorney General Roy Cooper is seeking to raise campaign money off Gov. Pat McCrory’s decision last week to sign into law a bill that extends the waiting period for an abortion to 72 hours from the current 24 hours.” [News & Observer, 6/8/15]
Democrats Slammed McCrory’s Decision To Sign The 72-Hour Waiting Period Into Law, Saying He Broke A 2012 Campaign Promise By Doing So. According to the News & Observer, “Democrats have wasted no time jumping on Gov. Pat McCrory’s decision to sign the abortion bill, which triples the required waiting time. An advertisement is going up on Facebook on Friday claiming that the governor went back on his word by deciding to sign the bill, because when he campaigned for governor he said he would not sign any new abortion restrictions into law. It also says he broke the promise by signing another abortion bill in 2013.” [News & Observer, 6/5/15]
McCrory Signed House Bill 465 To Triple Mandatory Waiting Period For Women Seeking Abortion. According to ACLU-NC Releases, “Reproductive Justice: The House and Senate approved and Gov. McCrory signed HB 465, which tripled the mandatory waiting period for a woman seeking an abortion to 72 hours.” [ACLU-NC Releases, 10/20/15]
McCrory Justified Signing The Bill By Saying A Longer Waiting Period Was Not A Restriction
McCrory Argued That He Did Not Break His Campaign Promise Because The Longer Waiting Period Was Not A New Restriction. According to the News & Observer, “McCrory said Thursday that his decision was consistent with the promise he made by working with legislators over the past few months to make sure the bill didn’t include provisions that would have denied women further access to abortions. He said increasing the waiting time from 24 to 72 hours is not a new restriction, since the period can begin with a phone call and not a visit to the clinic. He compared it to making other medical appointments.” [News & Observer, 6/5/15]
McCrory Said That The Waiting Period Could Be Started By Calling A Center And Equated It To Scheduling Other Medical Procedures. According to WRAL, “‘It takes a phone call to begin that process,’ he said of the waiting period. ‘Frankly, that (is the) process a lot of people use for all medical procedures. ‘The fact of the matter is, due to my work and others’ work, we did not add further restrictions to access,’ he added. McCrory was referring to a provision dropped before the bill made it through the Senate that would have prevented anyone other than a board-certified ob-gyn from performing an abortion. Fewer than two-thirds of North Carolina's 100 counties have certified a ob-gyn.” [WRAL, 6/5/15]
A Staffer With Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Attacked McCrory For His Signing Of Abortion Restriction Legislation In 2015. According to the News & Observer via the Charlotte Observer, “For the second time in recent months, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has weighed in on new North Carolina laws. On Monday, her campaign released a statement criticizing Republican Gov. Pat McCrory for allowing an abortion law to go into effect here. The law requires abortion providers to send to state health officials the records of all abortions and induced miscarriages after the 16th week of pregnancy, including ultrasound images of fetuses.” [Charlotte Observer, 1/6/16]