NC officials will not seek reinstatement of 20-week abortion ban, AG Josh Stein says

Attorney General Josh Stein said Thursday his office would not ask a federal judge to reinstate North Carolina’s 20-week ban on abortion, rebuffing a request from GOP legislative leaders in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Earlier this month, Stein told GOP leaders that the state Department of Justice was continuing a review of Bryant v. Woodall, the case that resulted in a judge blocking the state’s 20-week ban from being applied.

In a statement Thursday, Stein said the N.C. DOJ would not “take action that would restrict women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions.”

“Protecting that ability is more important than ever, as states across the nation are banning abortions in all instances, including rape and incest,” Stein said.

Hours after the Supreme Court struck down Roe and a related 1992 ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, last month, Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore asked Stein to “take all necessary legal action” to reinstate the ban, which a federal judge ruled unconstitutional in 2019.

The legislative leaders said the GOP-controlled Senate and House would consider whether further restrictions on abortion are necessary when lawmakers return next year. In the meantime, they said, their priority was to see the 20-week ban restored as soon as possible.

Judge calls for new arguments in the case

This month, Judge William Osteen Jr. ordered all parties involved in Bryant v. Woodall to submit briefs with their arguments for why the injunction on the 20-week ban should or should not be lifted. The order, issued July 8, gives parties a month to respond with their briefs.

Stein, a Democrat who was elected in 2016, has said he is a strong supporter of reproductive rights, and in June 2019, recused himself from Bryant v. Woodall due to his public stance against laws restricting access to abortion across the country.

The case has been handled by staff at the state DOJ since then. In a response to Berger and Moore earlier this month, Stein said DOJ staff were consulting with all of the parties involved in Bryant v. Woodall and were reviewing the case “consistent with their ethical and legal obligations.”

Republicans promise to defend ban

In response to Stein’s announcement Thursday, Moore said that Republican leaders were “exploring all options to defend the law and protect life in North Carolina.”

Moore had previously told reporters that the legislature was “totally capable” of having its own attorneys ask the court to reinstate the ban.

“Despite his faux outrage, Josh Stein knows full well that the 20-week ban on the books does not limit women’s freedom, but protects the unborn when they are capable of feeling pain in the womb,” Moore said in a statement.

Berger also criticized Stein’s decision not to seek reinstatement of the abortion ban, saying Stein “swore an oath to uphold and enforce North Carolina law, and this is the latest example of his refusal to do his job.”

The ACLU of North Carolina, one of the parties that filed the original lawsuit against the state’s 20-week ban, thanked Stein for “using his power to protect the rights of North Carolinians and others seeking abortion care in our state.”

“There are already a number of unreasonable restrictions to abortion access for North Carolinians, such as the 72-hour waiting period and a telemedicine ban for medication abortion,” Executive Director Chantal Stevens said in a statement. “Enforcing this sweeping 20-week ban, which lacks any exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, would only further restrict our rights.”

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