North Carolina’s “Care for Women, Children, and Families Act,” which passed the General Assembly May 4, takes a holistic approach to the abortion issue. It prohibits most abortions after 12 weeks but also significantly increases support for pregnant women and their babies.
Expected to become law this month, here are three key takeaways:
1) The act invests millions in helping mothers in need.
The legislation funds programs to help mothers during pregnancy and beyond, including $75 million toward childcare, $59 million for foster care and children’s homes, $20 million for maternity and paternity leave for teachers and state employees, and $16 million to reduce maternal and infant mortality. It also allocates $3 million to help mothers and fathers complete community college, recognizing the role of education in furthering family and career plans.
Pairing protection for unborn children with support for mothers in need is becoming the new norm for pro-life legislation. In Texas, as the state’s limit on abortions after 6 weeks became law, the state simultaneously allocated $100 million to provide support services to pregnant mothers and their families. In Mississippi, Missouri and South Dakota, where abortion was also restricted, these states have worked to expand Medicaid eligibility for postpartum moms. And Florida has matched recent efforts to advance protections for unborn children with millions for pregnancy, postpartum and foster care.
Programs like these should be part of every pro-life bill. Studies have found that a significant number of women seeking abortion cite worries that having a baby would make education, work, or caring for dependents more difficult. The new North Carolina act responds directly to these concerns not only by allocating public funding but by increasing the flow of information, including the creation of a website to inform women of public and private agencies that offer assistance. Under the new law, this list must be provided to every woman seeking an abortion as part of her right to informed consent.
2) The law helps protect women from unsafe abortion practices.
Abortion proponents often raise the specter of dangerous, illegal, “back-alley” abortions, but legal abortion also comes with health and safety risks.
It’s hard to forget the infamous Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, convicted for multiple felonies in a “house of horrors” abortion clinic, which festered due to lax oversight from state officials. In Charlotte, an abortion facility was temporarily shut down in 2013 when state regulators found conditions, including dirty surgical instruments, that presented “an imminent danger to the health, safety and welfare of the clients.”
The Act maintains yearly inspection and licensure requirements for North Carolina clinics. It also ensures that women are not rushed or coerced into unwanted abortions, and safeguards the life of the mother in the event of a medical emergency.
The Act ensures that both chemical and surgical abortion will be administered in a medical setting. Chemical abortions account for more than half of abortions in North Carolina and some advocates have promoted administering this method of abortion via telehealth, which makes it difficult to screen for problems. But the legislation requires in-person visits to secure informed consent 72 hours before having any abortion. The law also upholds North Carolina’s existing requirement that the chemical abortion pill be administered in-person, and adds a follow-up visit afterward to screen for possible complications.
3) The law doesn’t protect all unborn children – but it is a step forward.
The act was modeled on abortion regulations in Europe, most of which limit abortion after 12 weeks (the first trimester), with various exceptions beyond that point. The new North Carolina law also limits second- and third-trimester abortions, with exceptions through 20 weeks for rape and incest, and 24 weeks for “life-limiting anomalies.”
Unfortunately, because more than 90% of abortions in North Carolina take place before 12 weeks, most unborn children at risk of abortion remain without legal protection. In addition, by excepting some unborn children from protection after 12 weeks, the law falls short of recognizing the full human dignity of children conceived in tragic circumstances – or of truly serving the mothers who are victims.
Too often abortion is presented as if it were the only possible response to the horrific crimes of rape or incest, or to the sadness of a life-limiting diagnosis. But the witness of mothers who chose life even after suffering an assault, and of parents who found even a short time with a disabled child could be filled with love and closeness, shows that the law’s approach does not do justice to the complex needs of the families who experience these situations.
Despite these limitations, the Care for Women, Children, and Families Act represents real, if incremental, progress toward legal protection for every unborn child.
The law also responds to the needs of mothers and families struggling to welcome life. As we continue our work to build a culture of life in North Carolina, we should welcome this legislation as an important step toward that goal.
Father Peter Ascik is director of the Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Family Life and pastor of St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Shelby.