Media Contact

Molly Rivera, ACLU of North Carolina, 919-438-0492 or [email protected]

April 16, 2019

RALEIGH – The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina today sent Governor Roy Cooper a letter urging him to veto Senate Bill 359, a bill that targets health care providers who provide safe and legal abortion care with the threat of a serious criminal penalty. The North Carolina House passed the bill today, and it now heads to the governor.

In the letter, the ACLU-NC urges Governor Cooper to veto the proposal because it would “interfere with the patient-provider relationship, target health care providers, and mislead the public about safe, legal abortion care.”

“This extreme anti-abortion bill shamelessly inserts political ideology into the practice of medicine, replacing health care providers’ best judgment with that of politicians,” said Susanna Birdsong, Senior Policy Counsel for the ACLU of North Carolina. “Politicians are not medical experts, and this proposal has no basis in medical science. This legislative overreach is inappropriate and harmful, and shows a callous disregard for patients in need of compassionate, evidence-based care.”