Pro-abortion Gov. Roy Cooper (D) of North Caroline signed an executive order this week to protect access to abortion in the state.
The order, Executive Order No. 263, states that “reproductive freedom in North Carolina” in the aftermath of the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.
A press release on Cooper’s website noted that Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of abortion giant Planned Parenthood Action Fund, was part of the Cooper’s efforts to safeguard abortion access in the state.
The order states that “all Cabinet Agencies shall coordinate with each other and pursue opportunities to protect people or entities who are providing, assisting, seeking, or obtaining lawful reproductive health care services in North Carolina.”
In addition, the order protects women who come to North Carolina for an abortion from extradition and does not allow cabinet agencies to cooperate with investigations in other states into individuals who obtained or provided an abortion in North Carolina. Townhall covered how pro-abortion Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) issued similar directives.
“The Supreme Court ripped away the constitutional right to reproductive freedom that women have relied on for five decades,” Cooper said in a statement. “For now, it’s up to the states to determine whether women get reproductive health care, and in North Carolina they still can, thanks to my veto and enough legislative votes to sustain it. I am determined to keep it that way and people need to know that their votes in state legislative races this November will determine the fate of women’s health and freedom in our state.”
Townhall reported this week how McGill Johnson outlined Planned Parenthood’s three goals going forward now that Roe is history.
In an interview with The Guardian, McGill Johnson said she wants to help women seeking an abortion cross state lines in order to do so. While several states like Mississippi and Texas have trigger laws intended to restrict access to abortion, states like California and New York are working to expand access to abortion and direct funds to accommodate out-of-state patients.
Next, McGill Johnson wants to win lawsuits in state courts where abortion access is restricted. The Guardian pointed out that Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Reproductive Rights have filed 11 lawsuits to delay abortion bans or have them struck down.
And, McGill Johnson wants to “win at the ballot box” where constituents vote for pro-abortion politicians.
In the Supreme Court’s majority opinion for Dobbs, the Justices wrote that the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to abortion and determined that Roe and Casey were wrongly decided.
“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” the opinion stated.
“Like the infamous decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, Roe was also egregiously wrong and on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided. Casey perpetuated its errors, calling both sides of the national controversy to resolve their debate, but in doing so, Casey necessarily declared a winning side. Those on the losing side—those who sought to advance the State’s interest in fetal life—could no longer seek to persuade their elected representatives to adopt policies consistent with their views. The Court short-circuited the democratic process by closing it to the large number of Americans who disagreed with Roe.”