A Full Bird Exclusive
June 03, 201906/03/2019
Amidst state abortion law battles, NC to vote on 'born alive' bill June 5
Photo of 9-week fetus from Lunar Caustic used by permission of Creative Commons.
Both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly passed the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, SB 359, earlier this session, but after Gov. Roy Cooper's veto, it looked as if the bill would not be made law.
The state's Senate had the votes to override the veto, thanks to Greenville Democrat Sen. Don Davis crossing the aisle. Four Democrats also crossed the aisle in the House during the original vote, but it's unclear if they will maintain their votes for the bill and buck the veto of their fellow Democrat, Roy Cooper.
Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) announced he would allow a vote on the issue on June 5. The bill had been on the calendar for weeks in a row but was taken off the schedule and moved each time, likely because the votes were not there to pass it. This announcement may be a sign that House leadership is accepting that they do not have enough votes to override the veto but want votes to be on the record for or against.
“North Carolina’s leaders must take a stand together and say that we aren’t New York, we aren’t Virginia, we won’t allow or try to let a living, breathing child that is born alive be left to die on their own without any care in our state,” said Rep. Pat McElraft (R-Carteret), a lead sponsor of the House’s ‘Born Alive’ legislation, said in a statement. “These little babies are North Carolinians who made it alive into our state and are surviving on their own. They’re worthy of our protection.”
