Opinion

Editorial: NC Senate Bill 20. How NOT to make a law

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 -- The message this action sends to North Carolinians is clear: Rules are made to be bent and broken. Be warned, the whim and will of the leaders of the General Assembly will not be subject to the procedures, regulations and processes that make for an orderly democracy.
Posted 2023-05-17T02:35:06+00:00 - Updated 2023-06-01T02:35:23+00:00
05-16-2023 N.C. General Assembly Abortion protesters

CBC Editorial: Wednesday, May 17, 2023; editorial #8849

The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company

It was a Pyrrhic victory for state Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore. Their strong-arm tactics rushing through Senate Bill 20 – the most extensive reduction in abortion access in North Carolina and one of the most restrictive in the nation – won’t reduce abortion but only make it more dangerous for women.

For all the harm this legislation does to women’s health, it is the extraordinary legislative whirlwind process by which it became law that is the most damaging. The bait-and-switch that greased the skids to move the bill abused the process and manipulated legislators’ votes. It is testament to the lack of respect Berger and Moore have for the institution they run.

The chants of “shame, shame” from the gallery after the House vote may have been an exhibition of inappropriate behavior from the observers but accurately assessed what they’d witnessed. It made a mockery of the General Assembly’s integrity as a whole and most directly the 30 senators and 72 representatives who voted to override.

It took a mere 48 hours for the legislature to consider and pass a bill that forces a 72-hour waiting period on women seeking an abortion after they’ve consulted with a doctor. Introducing and passing a bill into law is a process that under normal circumstances will take weeks.

In a democracy, process in a legislative body is important. Time for deliberation isn’t an inconvenience but a necessity. It is the way that citizens are assured those they elect to represent them have a full and fair opportunity to participate in the making of laws. That’s what representative government is about.

This was legislation by ambush as Republicans connived – supposedly since January -- in secret. Then without warning, they offered up a dramatic change in state law and made sure there was as little opportunity as possible for any examination, public input, discussion or debate.

Whatever satisfaction the leaders of the General Assembly may find in overriding the veto of this bill will be overshadowed by the damage done to the institution of representative government in North Carolina.

The message this action sends to North Carolinians is clear: Rules are made to be bent and broken.

Be warned, the whim and will of the leaders of the General Assembly will not be subject to the procedures, regulations and processes that make for an orderly democracy.

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