'People playing God': N.C. Republicans push for bill further limiting abortion

On April 7, Rep. Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico) filed House Bill 804, the Human Life Protection Act of 2025. The bill would prohibit abortion starting at fertilization, with exceptions only for situations in which the mother is at risk of death or substantial bodily impairment without an abortion. 

Currently, after the 2023 enactment of Senate Bill 20, North Carolina law prohibits abortions after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with an exception allowing abortions through the first 20 weeks of pregnancy if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. 

Under H.B. 804, performing or receiving an abortion which results in an unborn child — defined by the bill as including an embryo and fetus — would be a Class B1 felony, resulting in prison time ranging from 12 years to life imprisonment without parole, depending on sentencing and prior criminal history. Additionally, anyone who violates the bill would be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $100,000. 

“You’ve got a few people determining life for everyone else, or the different stages of life — what is life, what is a child — and using very colloquial terms for a very medical, physical, biological situation,” Rep. Renée Price (D-Caswell, Orange) said. “In a sense, it’s like people playing God.”

Reps. Ben Moss (R-Moore, Richmond), Mark Brody (R-Anson, Union) and Donnie Loftis (R-Gaston) have signed onto the bill as sponsors. 

On April 8, H.B. 804 passed its first reading in the House and was referred to the House Committee, no further action has been taken since.

“I don’t think there’s any real desire in our caucus to hear that particular bill, and so it’s not going to be heard in committee,” House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell, Watuaga) said to reporters on April 8.

H.B. 804 is unexpected to move forward in the House due to its lack of support from both legislators and the the North Carolina general public, Julia Walker, the communications strategist for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said. 

“It’s been introduced by several of the more extreme anti-abortion legislators in the General Assembly," she said. "Even other anti-abortion legislators that may have voted for the previous 12-week ban that we currently have into effect don’t support this bill."

In March 2023, Kidwell filed a similar bill titled the Human Life Protection Act of 2023, which was co-sponsored by Moss and Rep. Edward Goodin (R-Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Perquimans, Tyrrell, Washington). The bill was never placed on the House calendar. 

Although H.B. 804 is not expected to move forward in the House, it is important to pay attention to other bills or policies tied into the House budget that seek to regulate abortion, Rep. Allen Buansi (D-Orange) said. 

Two other bills recently introduced in the House also propose greater restrictions to North Carolina’s abortion laws. House Bill 553 would require pregnant people to attend an in-person consultation to have informed consent before receiving any abortion-inducing medication. The bill currently has 16 sponsors, including Moss and Loftis. House Bill 844 would make abortion after the first six weeks of pregnancy unlawful.

“In North Carolina [and] across the South in general, reproductive health care is already immensely difficult — it can be immensely difficult to obtain, especially in rural areas, especially for people that have lower income,” Walker said. “So any restrictions on this care further impacts more vulnerable populations.”

Since 2023, Democrats in the N.C. General Assembly have led efforts to codify the protections of reproductive health care discussed in the decisions of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, most recently through the Right to Reproductive Freedom Act. 

“If there is any movement afoot to further restrict abortion access, we are there to stand against that,” Buansi said. “We’re there to stand for privacy, for health care, for the right to one’s own body, so we will stay vigilant.”

@DTHCityState | city@dailytarheel.com