NC GOP passes abortion ban

Created
Wed, 17/05/2023 - 23:00
Updated
Wed, 17/05/2023 - 23:00
This is what minority rule looks like We knew it was coming and it did: The North Carolina legislature banned most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy Tuesday evening, voting to override the veto of Gov. Roy Cooper (D), while a similar measure heads to a final vote in Nebraska in the coming days. “It won’t stop here. NCGOP has repeatedly referred to this legislation as a ‘first step’. Stay engaged. And thank you to everyone who came today and sent messages of support. It means more than you know,” tweeted Rep. Lindsey Prather, a Buncombe County Democrat. North Carolina Republicans mustered the bare minimum of votes needed for the three-fifths override with the help of “partisan gerrymandering and an inexplicable recent party switch by a previously pro-choice lawmaker,” writes Stephen Wolf at Daily Kos: North Carolina’s legislative districts have been gerrymandered to favor Republicans to varying degrees ever since the GOP swept into power in the 2010 midterms. Because the governor lacks veto power over redistricting, the courts have been the only bulwark against Republican gerrymandering, leading to an endless cycle of litigation as the GOP’s maps would get struck down, replaced, and challenged once again. While the courts blocked the initial maps Republicans passed after the 2020 census, GOP lawmakers responded by adopting slightly tamer gerrymanders that were used in 2022 while litigation proceeded. Despite Republicans’ modest victories in last year’s statewide elections for the U.S. Senate and other contests, Republicans came close to winning veto-proof majorities in the legislature under these revised lines, securing three-fifths of all seats in the Senate…