Cooper vows to fight future abortion restrictions

In response, Republicans and allies are accusing Cooper of "electioneering" and engaging in "scare tactics."

The executive order bans cabinet agencies from cooperating with officials in other states seeking to prosecute abortion providers here or patients from other states who come here to get an abortion. It also reminds state law enforcement agencies that it’s against the law to block access to any healthcare facility, including abortion clinics. And it forbids cabinet agencies from requiring a pregnant employee to travel to any state where an abortion ban could jeopardize their health in case of emergency.

Under current state law, abortion is legal until viability, generally 23 to 24 weeks. A state law limiting abortion to the first 20 weeks is blocked by a federal court injunction at the moment, but the judge in that lawsuit is expected to lift the injunction soon as a result of the high court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

North Carolina lawmakers are not expected to take action this year on any type of new abortion laws. That's largely because Cooper has made it clear he will veto any such legislation, and the GOP doesn't currently control the needed votes to override a veto.

However, Republican legislative leaders are hoping to win back veto-proof majorities in this fall's elections. They only need to pick up two Senate seats and three House seats to do so. That’s five out of 170 seats – a slim margin, especially in the current political climate which favors Republicans.

House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, have already said they'll take up new abortion restrictions early next year.

Cooper said the ultimate fate of access to abortion in North Carolina lies in the hands of voters this fall.

"I will never back down when women's health is on the line," Cooper said. "But let's be clear - my veto is only effective when I have the votes in the state legislature to back me up. That means the consequences for this November's elections have never been more serious.

"If Democrats were to lose just two seats in the Senate or three seats in the House, then North Carolina loses the ability to protect women's reproductive rights," he added.

Republican lawmakers dismissed Cooper's warning.

"Governor Cooper is desperate to distract voters from his party’s failed economic record," said House Speaker Tim Moore's spokeswoman Demi Dowdy in a statement. "Today’s announcement is nothing more than electioneering, and his predictions about future legislation are simply baseless fearmongering.”

The event at the executive mansion featured Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political fundraising arm of the non-profit Planned Parenthood.

Johnson said her group, in conjunction with abortion-rights group NARAL and political action committee Emily's List, has pledged to spend $150 million this fall on legislative races in key states, including North Carolina.

"All of our affiliates will be active and engaged, because we understand that this is on the ballot right now," Johnson said. "The court has taken the right away from people and given it back to lawmakers in the states. And now the fight is in each state, and that's what we're going to be."

Cooper noted that GOP lawmakers have already attempted to enact abortion restrictions, and predicted they would file much more extreme proposals next session in the absence of federal protection.

"Now they'll be even more brazen and dangerous. No exception for rape, incest, or the mother's wife, making criminals out of doctors, their patients or anyone who drive for them to the clinic or assist them in any way," Cooper asserted. "Too often, we've expected the worst from this legislature, and too often, they have delivered. We must be ready for the worst and committed to stopping it."

Tami Fitzgerald with anti-abortion group NC Values dismissed Cooper's warning as an "election year stunt, contrived to scare women into thinking there is a problem to solve."

"North Carolina abortion laws have not changed since Roe vs. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, and this is just Governor Cooper’s virtue signaling to the abortion industry which is nervous about a predicted veto-proof majority come November," Fitzgerald added.