North Carolina Abortion Bill to become law July 1; Federal Court to hear Abortion Drug Access Today

The new law takes North Carolina's current ban on abortions down from 20 weeks — with exceptions for medical emergencies — to 12 weeks. That timeframe can be extended in cases of rape or incest (20 weeks) or life-limiting fetal abnormalities (24 weeks). Abortion would stay legal any time a doctor declares a medical emergency.

Other aspects of the law make it more onerous for many women to get an abortion at any time, critics say. A phone consultation required by current law at least 72-hours before an abortion would have to be held in person under the new law. The bill also adds a post-abortion doctor's appointment. The spaced-out appointments will be difficult to keep, Democrats have argued, for women with full-time jobs, women with other children to care for and women who don't have money for travel. There are only 14 abortion clinics in North Carolina, located in nine of the state's 100 counties. Abortions must be performed at a clinic or a hospital, and Democratic lawmakers said 20 North Carolina counties don't have a hospital.

“The things in this bill are not obstacles to abortion,” Rep. Sarah Stevens, R-Surry, said Tuesday. “They’re safeguards.”

The law also calls for new clinic licensing rules for clinics. There's some dispute just what the bill requires here, but Planned Parenthood, which operates six of the state's 14 clinics, has said none of its facilities meet the expected new regulations and would either have to close or upgrade at unknown costs.

Doctors groups have complained about new paperwork and reporting requirements in the bill, which they say are not medically necessary — a point that was raised by at least one Democratic lawmaker.