With Roe v. Wade in Danger, Here’s What North Carolina Leaders are Saying

State and national leaders from North Carolina joined the fierce reaction to a draft opinion from the US Supreme Court placing abortion rights in jeopardy.

The draft ruling showing that the Supreme Court appears ready to invalidate Roe V. Wade, the longstanding recognition of a woman’s right to choose whether to have a baby or not, has prompted fast and fierce reaction.

Here’s a look at what North Carolina’s elected officials have had to say about the draft, Roe v. Wade, and the leak of the draft to the press.

Democrats

One of the most powerful responses came from Nida Allam, a Durham County Commissioner running for Congress in NC’s 4th District. Allam posted a photo she said was taken on the day she had an abortion after an ectopic pregnancy, which means the fertilized egg implants and grows outside the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies are dangerous, but many of the abortion bans that have passed in legislatures across the country do not make allowances for threats to the life of the mom.

“This picture was taken on the day of my abortion, when I ended my ectopic pregnancy to save my life even though a viable pregnancy was everything I’d ever wanted,” Allam wrote on Twitter.

“When they come for our right to choose, they’re coming for our right to our lives. We can’t let them take it.”

Cheri Beasley, former NC State Supreme Court Justice who is running for Senate:

NC Rep. Alma Adams

NC Rep. Deborah Ross

NC Rep. David Price

North Carolina Democratic Party

Reps. Kathy Manning and G.K. Butterfield have not yet released public statements.

Advocates

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic:

Pro-Choice North Carolina

Republicans

NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn:

NC Rep. Virginia Fox

Mark Walker, who is running for US Senate:

The other Republican Senate candidates, Ted Budd and Pat McCrory, have not yet issued public statements.

Senator Thom Tillis has also not yet tweeted or issued any public statements on the contents of the leak, but on March 1, the first day of Women’s History Month, he posted from his personal account about honoring the women in his life. 

And here’s a roundup of what other publications are saying:

The public backs abortion rights by wide margins, Pew Research Center.

“Data offers a broad outline of abortion in the United States today — and who may be most affected if Roe v. Wade is diminished or overturned,” The New York Times

“While Alito’s [draft ruling] would give state legislatures broad authority to regulate or ban abortion, Alito’s voting rights opinions make it much harder for voters to actually have a meaningful say in who sits in those legislatures,” Vox

“And so here we are. A minority, placed in control of the U.S. Supreme Court by a president who received a minority of the popular vote and then, when he lost reelection, tried to overturn our democracy, is explicitly taking away a constitutional right that has been protected for fifty years. Its attack on federal protection of civil rights applies not just to abortion, but to all the protections put in place since World War II: the right to use birth control, marry whomever you wish, live in desegregated spaces, and so on,” Heather Cox Richardson, professor of American History at Boston College.

This post was updated to add a response from Nida Allam, a Durham County Commissioner running for a seat in Congress.