North Carolina sends born-alive bill to governor

The North Carolina legislature gave final approval Tuesday to a bill requiring doctors and nurses to provide medical care to babies who survive attempted abortions. Under the Republican-drafted legislation, medical professionals could face felony charges and steep fines for failing to care for a baby if a late-term abortion is botched and the baby is born breathing and with a beating heart, said state Rep. Pat McElraft, a Republican. The House passed the bill Tuesday, one day after the Senate gave its approval. Both bodies have GOP majorities.

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has criticized the measure, raising expectations he would veto it when it reaches his desk. “This unnecessary legislation would criminalize doctors for a practice that simply does not exist,” Cooper spokesman Ford Porter wrote in an email.