North Carolina increases protections for unborn babies

North Carolina now protects unborn babies from abortion after 12 weeks of gestation. Previous state law did not apply until after 20 weeks. A federal judge in the state ruled Friday that nearly all of a new pro-life law could go into effect. The judge did delay one provision until later this month.

What was the blocked provision? It prevented doctors from prescribing abortion drugs if they couldn’t document via ultrasound that the patient was pregnant. Doctors feared the rule could expose them to prosecution if they prescribed abortion drugs before the unborn baby became visible to ultrasound. The law allows exceptions for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape and incest, up to 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies, and in all cases of medical emergencies.

Dig deeper: Listen to Leah Savas’ report on The World and Everything in It podcast about the pro-life movement a year after Dobbs v. Jackson.