N.C. Women Will Now Wait Longer For An Abortion

North Carolina is about to join a pretty depressing club when it comes to delaying a woman's access to an abortion. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory said Wednesday he'd sign North Carolina's newest abortion bill that would require women to wait three days before they can get an abortion. That would make the Tar Heel State one of several to have the longest waiting periods in the country.

House Bill 465, which already passed both legislative houses in North Carolina, require women to talk with a doctor or other qualified health care professional and wait 72 hours before they can have an abortion. Women can skip the waiting period if there is a medical emergency. The bill also adds specific regulations for doctors and clinics that perform abortions as well as some criminal justice provisions.

In a statement, McCrory said he worked with House and Senate members to create a final version that met his approval. According to McCrory (pictured below), a phone call with a doctor could count as initial contact so women wouldn't need to make multiple in-person appointments. The governor also said there were provisions in the bill that would better define medical training as well as protect children.

Some very positive progress was made during the last several days to protect women’s health. Therefore, I will sign this bill.

Right now, there are 26 states that require some kind of waiting period, most for 24 hours, which was the length of North Carolina's existing period. Just three states require women to wait three days: Missouri, South Dakota, and Utah. Oklahoma, which passed its own three-day bill earlier this month, will join them in November. With its new bill, North Carolina will make that number five.

Opponents said there was no medical reason to extend the state's time frame and argued Republicans were attempting to create obstacles for women seeking abortions. The bill's House sponsors, such as Rep. Pat McElraft, said the measure would not only give women more time to think about their options, but also could decrease the number of abortions in the state. And using some out-of-this-world logic, McElraft told WRAL the measure would have this "positive" side effect.

We are multi-taskers here in the General Assembly. I am absolutely an advocate for jobs, but we can do lots of the things. And actually, when we can have a few more little taxpayers born, why not?

What better argument for stopping abortions than saying hey, we could use more little tikes who'll become future taxpaying citizens of the good ol' U.S. of A.? Gov. McCrory is set to sign North Carolina's abortion bill, and it'll be the latest in a series of anti-abortion legislation the state has issued out. No matter what lawmakers may say, each bill is another wall being put up to limit a woman's right to access.

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