Ahead Of Dobbs Anniversary, North Carolina “Key in Post-Roe Fight Over Abortion Rights”

Josh Stein: “This is an issue that can tip the balance.”

This Saturday marks one year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Headed into the critical 2024 elections, The Messenger underscores how North Carolina Democrats like Attorney General and candidate for governor Josh Stein are “leaning into the fight over abortion access” as “few 2024 battleground states will be more important…than North Carolina.”

Stein has never backed down from the fight to protect women’s freedoms to make their own health care decisions. Next November, he’ll stand up for women across North Carolina whose energy around this issue “can tip the balance” and make sure the Governor’s office remains in good hands. Stein also noted that North Carolina Republicans’ extreme abortion ban has made “what was once an abstract concept…incredibly real, because it’s affecting women’s lives today in North Carolina.”

As polling shows more North Carolinians oppose Republicans’ abortion ban than support it, GOP politicos warn that it’s “an issue that should concern” Republicans and suggest candidates “avoid extreme rhetoric.” That is sure to pose a problem for Lietenant Governor Mark Robinson who has doubled down and made clear he wants a total ban on abortion in North Carolina, even in the case of rape or incest.

Few 2024 battleground states will be more important in the fight over abortion rights than North Carolina.

The Republican-held state legislature and Democratic governor have been embroiled in the fight over reproductive rights in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson and overturned Roe v. Wade. State Republicans passed a bill banning abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, but Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed it — only for Republicans to override the veto. The 12-week ban, which includes some exceptions, goes into effect on July 1.

Democrats are now leaning into the fight over abortion access as they attempt to keep the governorship, flip the state in the presidential race and hold onto a string of House races.

North Carolina will be home to one of the most competitive gubernatorial contests in 2024, with Cooper barred from running for reelection after two terms. The state will also see significant spending on a series of competitive races that could swing control of the U.S. House, as well as a Democratic fight to break through Republicans’ veto-proof majority in the state’s legislature.

These elections, said Democratic candidates and election experts, could turn on reproductive rights.

“This is an issue that can tip the balance,” said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, the only declared Democratic candidate for governor and the presumptive nominee.

“For 50 years, most people thought this issue was settled, that the Constitution protected women and their ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions. Dobbs flipped that table upside down and handed it off to the states. … So what was once an abstract concept has become incredibly real, because it’s affecting women’s lives today in North Carolina.”

Polling indicates that the state is divided on abortion access. A May 2023 poll conducted by a progressive organization found 54 percent of North Carolinians oppose the state’s law, while 40 percent support it. A Pew Research Center poll on abortion views in North Carolina similarly found 49 percent of adults in the state believed the procedure should be legal in all or most cases, while 45 percent believed it should be illegal in all or most cases.

To Doug Heye, a North Carolina native and former top spokesperson at the Republican National Committee, it “is an issue that should concern” Republicans and “gives Democrats an opportunity,” especially in the growing suburbs across the state.

“It starts with rhetoric. They have to avoid extreme rhetoric,” Heye said of Republican candidates in North Carolina, noting that in a post-Roe world, Republicans are forced to speak about the practical implications of abortion laws, not just theory.