On Friday, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and other allied abortion advocates dropped their challenges to five different North Carolina laws pertaining to abortions. N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Eden, had filed motions to dismiss the challenge to these laws on Jan. 6, 2021. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic dropped their challenge on Friday in a big win for pro-life groups in North Carolina.
“Every woman deserves to have all the information she needs to make the healthiest choice for everyone involved in an unexpected pregnancy,” said Denise Harle, senior counsel for the defense, in a press release. “We’re pleased to have favorably closed this case on behalf of the legislators we represent, and to see these life-saving state laws that empower women remain in effect.”
Harle is part of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, and is the director of their Center for Life.
The following regulations were challenged by Planned Parenthood and their allies in the case:
- prohibition on telemedicine abortions
- 72-hour informed-consent period
- facility safety-code obligations
- requirement that facilities provide patients with informed-consent information
- regulation stating abortions must performed by licensed physician
All five laws will remain in place. Both Berger and Moore have suggested that additional legislation around abortion could also be introduced in the upcoming 2023 long session of the N.C. General Assembly.
The decision to drop the case comes 6 months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which Roe v. Wade (1972) was overturned and the court held that the U.S. Constitution does not confer the right to abortion.
The motion by the plaintiffs is below: