President Joe Biden began his State of the Union address Tuesday — his first to a divided Congress — with an appeal to bipartisan priorities, but later criticized parts of the GOP agenda and got a sense of Republicans’ appetite for conflict during one combative stretch.
...abortion
The North Carolina legislative session begins Wednesday with a more conservative House and Senate and an environment in which GOP leaders will have an easier time pushing state laws and policies further to the right. Republicans gained seats in both the House and Senate in the November election. The GOP won a veto-proof majority in the Senate and is one vote shy of a veto-proof majority in the House, making it much more likely that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes can be overturned.
...North Carolina's Josh Stein is among the signatories WASHINGTON — Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief in federal court on Tuesday, challenging Texas’ assertion that states shouldn’t have to comply with a federal law that protects doctors who end a pregnancy to save the patient’s life. The brief argues the judge in the case shouldn’t grant Texas’ request for preliminary injunctive relief...
...Some say NC is a state in which reproductive freedom is implied in its constitution If the federal right to abortion is erased by the U.S. Supreme Court in a few weeks as expected, the legal spotlight will shift immediately to state courts, where experts say judges in some conservative states could surprise everyone and uphold the right to abortion.
...The internet has exploded over the last 36 hours in the aftermath of Monday night’s extraordinary leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Mississippi abortion case (Dobbs v. Jackson) that reverses the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which established the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability.
...WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday pledged a new vote codifying the right to an abortion after publication of a draft court ruling that showed the Supreme Court on track to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. Democrats, who likely won’t have the votes to advance that bill, also predicted that abortion will emerge as a major issue in the upcoming midterm elections for members of Congress.
...Join us Wednesday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. for a very special (and online) Crucial Conversation: "The current and future state of abortion access in North Carolina" For decades in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, North Carolina enjoyed the reputation as a “progressive” southern state when it came to abortion access. Since 2010, however, when Republicans took control of the state legislature, access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare has come under a sustained and intense attack.
...GREENSBORO — On this Saturday, two groups of people stand watch in the 20-space parking lot of a Japanese steakhouse, each staking out their own territory. When a car pulls in, often with a woman driving, each group springs to action. Those wearing rainbow-colored vests motion in the direction of the abortion clinic, guiding drivers to the proper place to park. Others, dressed in navy "Sidewalk for Life" hoodies, wave, smile and put their hands in a praying position.
...You’ve undoubtedly seen the headlines by now. North Carolina’s perpetually controversial Lt. Governor, Mark Robinson – a man given to frequent public bouts of anti-Semitism and homophobia – has become enmeshed in yet another political storm of his own making. This time, the subject is abortion. After an old story came to light about Robinson paying for an abortion more than three decades ago for his wife Yolanda prior to their marriage, the Lt. Governor – a fierce present-day opponent of abortion rights – took to electronic media to proclaim the decades-old action “wrong.”
...National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day provides an opportunity to thank thousands of people who provide essential health care On March 10, 1993, a white supremacist anti-abortion fanatic murdered Dr. David Gunn, an abortion provider, in his clinic’s parking lot. Three years later, March 10th was chosen to mark National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, a day to honor Dr. Gunn's legacy and to celebrate...
...Advocates predict an influx of patients from other states if Roe vs. Wade falls, but that could change if the GOP expands its legislative majorities North Carolina is one of the states that might see an increased demand for abortion services if the U.S. Supreme Court weakens or overturns the landmark 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to abortion.
...With support from Richard Burr, Duke University professor seeks to return to position he held during the Obama years WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration drew praise from a top Senate Republican, as well as critical questions from conservatives and others during a Tuesday confirmation hearing.
...Issues familiar to North Carolinians are front and center in today's Virginia gubernatorial election Voters are headed to the polls today to elect the next governor of Virginia in a close race that has drawn significant national attention and that will likely have political implications for North Carolina — a neighboring state that is grappling with many similar policy debates.
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