New NC abortion laws tighten regulations

Even after Gov. Pat McCrory signed a controversial abortion bill into law late last month, the future of abortion in North Carolina is still unclear.

Senate Bill 353 imposes more stringent facility regulations on abortion clinics, limits abortion coverage under county or town health insurance plans, prohibits abortion based on a fetus’ sex and amends the Women’s Right to Know Act to require doctors to be present when the woman takes an initial abortion-inducing drug.

Opponents say the legislation could temporarily shut down several clinics in the state.

“In every state where similar legislation was met, the regulations did not have to do with patient care or healthcare,” said Paige Johnson, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina. “They have to do with facility issues — issues that have no bearing in safe and legal abortions.”

Johnson said in other states, legislators aim to close clinics through regulations that often pertain to door-width sizes and parking space requirements ­— costs some providers won’t be able to afford. Bills similar to this have been used nationwide to shut down safe and legal clinics, she said, adding that it was introduced in North Carolina with the same intent.

The timetable for the regulations has not yet been decided, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Anti-abortion group N.C. Right to Life President Barbara Holt said she sees the law as a much-needed update to the system.

She said the health and well-being of women should be abortion clinics’ highest priority, but she thinks that care has been lacking.

She said she thinks abortions have grave consequences for women and their families, a statement she can attest to from firsthand experience. “My sister had an abortion 30 years ago, and I’ve seen what it’s done to her in her life,” she said.

But Sarah Preston, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, said a provision in the law that prevents some healthcare providers from covering abortions could be detrimental for women.

“A woman would be forced to continue a catastrophic pregnancy that is unhealthy for her simply because she cannot afford the high out-of-pocket cost associated with the procedure,” she said. The law states that abortion can be covered when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman is endangered. Preston said the only option is to await the rule-making process and anticipate how severe regulations will be for clinics in the state.

Femcare, an Asheville abortion clinic, recently shut down after the N.C. DHHS announced that it failed a routine inspection. Representatives from Femcare declined to comment. As long as abortions remain legal, Holt said abortion clinics have to provide the best care possible.

“These folks wouldn’t be in this problem if they were policing their own industry and doing what they were supposed to be doing by looking out for the women they serve,” she said.

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