RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal judge has ruled that abortions are no longer legal after 20 weeks of pregnancy in North Carolina.
U.S. District Judge William Osteen reinstated the abortion ban Wednesday.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, North Carolina had to address its 1973 state law that hadn't been enforceable for decades. That 1973 NC law restricted abortions after 20 weeks.
Roe v. Wade nullified that rule, making abortion legal in our state up to viability -- typically about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
On Wednesday, that changed. The 20-week ban is back, at the request of Republican lawmakers.
In his order, Judge Osteen wrote, "none of the parties could argue that the injunction remains legally enforceable, nor could they...it was entered under the authority of Roe and Casey. That precedent has been overturned."
The 2019 injunction made it so that NC's 20-week abortion ban couldn't be enforced. Now, it can.
The judge's decision goes against the recommendations of all named parties in the 2019 case, including doctors, district attorneys and the attorney general’s office, who earlier this week filed briefs requesting he let the injunction stand.
The ruling erodes protections in one of the South’s few remaining safe havens for reproductive freedom.
Gov. Roy Cooper said on Twitter, that although he disagrees with the ruling, most patients will still be able to get reproductive health care in North Carolina.
"The significant problem with this ruling is that it will criminalize important health care that's needed in certain extraordinary circumstances. Abortion past 20 weeks in pregnancy is exceptionally rare and happens because of a devastating health emergency or diagnosis," the governor Tweeted in part.