AP

N. Carolina AG won’t seek to renew 20-week abortion ban

Jul 20, 2022, 8:26 PM | Updated: Jul 21, 2022, 12:14 pm

FILE - North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein speaks during a news conference outside the Durha...

FILE - North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein speaks during a news conference outside the Durham County Courthouse in Durham, N.C., June 28, 2021. North Carolina's Democratic attorney general declined Thursday, July 21, 2022, to meet Republican legislative leaders' demand that he ask a federal court to lift an injunction on a state law banning nearly all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. (Julia Wall/The News & Observer via AP, File)

(Julia Wall/The News & Observer via AP, File)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Democratic attorney general declined Thursday to meet Republican legislative leaders’ demand that he ask a federal court to lift an injunction on a state law banning nearly all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The Republican leaders had asked Attorney General Josh Stein, the state’s top lawyer, to return to court to reinstate the restriction – which has been unenforceable since 2019 – after the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning nationwide abortion protections removed the legal underpinning for the injunction.

“The Department of Justice will not take action that would restrict women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions,” Stein said. “Protecting that ability is more important than ever, as states across the nation are banning abortions in all instances, including rape and incest.”

A 2019 federal court ruling, affirmed last year by the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, barred the execution of the 20-week ban based on precedents set in Roe v. Wade and an associated 1992 ruling, both struck down June 24. The ruling extended the right to an abortion in North Carolina until fetal viability, which typically falls between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, on the day of the Supreme Court ruling, warned Stein that his inaction would lead them to take legal action of their own to reinstate the ban, which was part of a 1973 state law.

“No one should be surprised that Josh Stein is in the abortion-on-demand camp,” Berger said Thursday. “However, he swore an oath to uphold and enforce North Carolina law, and this is the latest example of his refusal to do his job.”

Though Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, lawmakers did not pass any additional abortion restrictions during the legislative session that ended July 1. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is a strong abortion-rights supporter whom Moore said would likely veto abortion legislation, but his veto power could soon be nullified if Republicans win a few additional seats in November.

___

Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/H_Schoenbaum.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

10 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

10 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

11 hours ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

N. Carolina AG won’t seek to renew 20-week abortion ban