NC legislative leaders ask federal judge to lift state's 20-week abortion ban

Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group, filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of state House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham.

They’re asking the court to lift an injunction blocking the enforcement of the state’s law that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks, or to allow them to intervene in the case.

After the landmark Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, state lawmakers passed the ban, which has certain exceptions for the mother’s health. The exceptions don’t allow for abortions after 20 weeks in case of rape or incest.

In 2016, abortion rights advocates challenged the law in federal court. In Bryant v. Woodall, abortion rights advocates argued North Carolina’s ban on abortion after 20 weeks violated a woman’s right under Roe to have an abortion up to the point of viability, usually 23 to 24 weeks.

In 2019, federal Judge William Osteen Jr. agreed, and blocked the state from enforcing its law. It’s been on hold ever since.

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision this year overturned the cases that the injunction was based on. However, the injunction remains in effect, so the 20-week ban can’t be enforced. State lawmakers are asking the judge to reinstate the law.

“You have this order. It was issued under the Supreme Court precedent. That precedent is no longer valid, so please lift this injunction,” said Erin Hawley, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.“Now that Roe is gone, what Dobbs says is that states have a valid and legitimate interest in protecting life throughout pregnancy at every developmental stage, including 20 weeks.”

Attorney General Josh Stein, D-North Carolina, said last week he will not ask the judge to reinstate the law.

"The Department of Justice will not take action that would restrict women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions," Stein said in a statement. "Protecting that ability is more important than ever, as states across the nation are banning abortions in all instances, including rape and incest.”

Planned Parenthood was a plaintiff in the Bryant v. Woodall case but declined an interview.

"The courts made the right decision when they blocked this abortion ban from being enforced,” Planned Parenthood spokesperson Jillian Riley said in a statement. “A person's health, not the whims of politicians, should guide important medical decisions at all stages of pregnancy.”

The abortion rights group plans to file its response to GOP lawmakers in the next week.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented plaintiffs in Bryant v. Woodall, said it is reviewing the brief and that it doesn’t see a basis for lifting the injunction.

“There are already a number of unreasonable restrictions to abortion access for North Carolinians, such as the 72-hour waiting period and a telemedicine ban for medication abortion,” the ACLU said in a statement. “Enforcing a sweeping 20-week ban, which lacks any exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, would only further restrict our rights.”