RALEIGH, N.C. — Abortion rights activists are once again fighting for reproductive rights in North Carolina.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that abortions are no longer legal after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The judge’s decision ends some protections in North Carolina, which is one of the few remaining states in the South that had allowed abortions beyond that point.
On Thursday, organizers from Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and other groups held a press conference at the State Capitol in Raleigh.
Activists say patients will be affected immediately and will now potentially have to cross state lines in order to get an abortion after 20 weeks.
Jillian Riley, the N.C. director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood’s South Atlantic region and a lobbyist, was one of the speakers at Thursday's event.
“We are feeling really motivated today. There’s people out here fighting for abortion access, fighting for our patients,” Riley said. “We are working incredibly hard to maintain that access.”
She says people need abortion care later in a pregnancy typically because of two factors: new medical information and barriers that delay their care.
“People learn medical information later in pregnancy that they could not have known before,” Riley said. “Like recognizing pregnancy later or learning about a fetal anomaly or a maternal health diagnosis, which can present a medical emergency. ... Forcing someone to continue a pregnancy against their will is a violation of their basic human right, their humanity and their freedom."
And while Riley and others are fighting for abortion rights, others are pushing for more restrictions.
Bill Pincus is the president of North Carolina Right To Life.
The nonprofit works to protect all life and is anti-abortion. Its mission is important to Pincus, who’s also a former medical doctor.
“At 20 weeks, the babies are fully developed and most OBs will do their ultrasounds on the babies at 15, 16, 17 weeks and you can see their hands, and legs … you can see their arms, their smile,” Pincus said.
He says the 20-week abortion ban is a small victory, but he will continue to fight for stricter abortion access.
“We are hoping that we can get more pro-life legislators in the North Carolina assembly,” Pincus said. “Right now Gov. Cooper and Josh Stein are both pro-choice, pro-abortion, and we would like to be able to override their decision.”
Riley and others are fearful that access to abortion care will only get stricter if anti-abortion lawmakers regain a supermajority in the General Assembly.
She is encouraging people to get out and vote in November for candidates who support abortion rights.