Where do candidates for NC General Assembly stand on abortion? Here’s what they said

With elections less than a month away, abortion is top of mind for many voters in North Carolina.

After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade this summer, state legislatures across the country have scrambled to implement their own abortion regulations, while top Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly said they plan to wait until after the midterms. The state GOP hopes to gain a supermajority capable of overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s likely veto on any abortion restrictions.

The News & Observer asked legislative candidates about their positions in a questionnaire. One of the questions asked legislative candidates which of a range of policies they favored on abortion. Another question invited candidates to say more about their position.

Of the Republican legislative candidates who responded to the questionnaire, more than 63% said abortion should be restricted further than the current ban at 20 weeks of pregnancy, which was recently revived by a federal court. The remaining Republicans said that the current 20-week ban should stay in place, or that they were undecided.

On the other side of the aisle, 73% of Democratic candidates who responded to the survey said there should be fewer restrictions on abortion — with 35% saying there should be no restrictions on abortion at all. The remaining candidates responded that the current 20-week ban should stay in place, or said they were undecided.

These figures can’t represent the entire slate of General Assembly candidates, though, as many candidates from both parties did not respond to the N&O’s survey. Less than 20% of Republican candidates for the legislature responded to the survey, and 65% of Democratic candidates.

But their responses generally align with the goals of state party leaders, with top Republicans hoping to pass further restrictions and top Democrats hoping to maintain enough seats to sustain the governor’s veto.

How the parties break down

In explaining their stance on abortion, Democrats tended to focus on the nearly 50-year precedent set by Roe v. Wade, whether to justify fewer restrictions or keeping the current 20-week ban in place.

In her multiple-choice answer, Democratic Sen. Sydney Batch of Wake County opted for keeping the 20-week ban in place. On the open-ended question, though, she called for restoring the right to abortion up to viability, usually considered 23 or 24 weeks.

“I believe that the current status quo in North Carolina regarding abortion should remain the same,” Batch said in her response. “I believe Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood should be codified at the state level. I am a co-sponsor of legislation to do just that. I agree with the holdings of those cases and believe that a state can add reasonable restrictions to abortions after viability. Prior to that, I believe women should have access to abortion without restrictions.”

Republican respondents tended to argue that life begins in the womb, with many saying abortion should only be permitted in severe cases.

The largest portion of Republican respondents said that they support an abortion ban with some exceptions.

“I believe in the right to life and stand against abortion in all circumstances except rape or incest,” said Rep. Reece Pyrtle, a Republican candidate for House District 65 in Rockingham County.

Only two Republican respondents said they supported a ban on abortion with no exceptions: Karen Kozel, who is running for Senate District 5 in Edgecombe and Pitt counties, and Alvin Reed, who is running for Senate District 20 in Chatham and Durham counties.

“I feel a baby is a person at conception,” Kozel said in her response. “Using ultrasound for a visual of a baby is effective in seeing this reality early on in the pregnancy.”

Battleground races

Abortion could be a decisive issue in battleground districts, like the race between Democrat Mary Wills Bode and Republican E.C. Sykes for Senate District 18. This district, which leans Democrat by less than 1.5 points in a state composite of 2016 and 2020 election results, covers Granville County and northern Wake County, including Wake Forest.

Bode’s campaign has hit Sykes hard on abortion. In an interview with The N&O, she said Sykes was an extremist candidate who “believes in a total ban on reproductive health care — no exceptions under any circumstances.”

In the N&O’s questionnaire, Sykes responded that he would ban abortion at some point in the first trimester, further writing that he opposed criminal penalties for women seeking abortions but did support them for medical providers who were “habitual offenders.”

However, in his responses to iVoterGuide, a national conservative Christian organization, Sykes said abortion should be outlawed in “nearly all situations.”

“My personal view on where some things are, and where the legislative view is, aren’t necessarily the same,” Sykes said in a phone interview with the N&O. “... Legislatively, we realize that in North Carolina something in the first trimester or less is a legislative reality that’s worth standing for. But personally, I’m a man of faith and I believe that God defines when life starts — but that’s not going to be a legislative reality.”

Sykes also lamented the focus on abortion this campaign season.

”I spend a lot of time door-knocking and this is not the issue that comes up when I’m talking to voters,” he said. “It’s economy, it’s groceries, it’s gas and it’s schools.”

Bode, on the other hand, said that voters from across the political spectrum had approached her to discuss the topic.

“They have tears in their eyes telling me about how they had complicated health care situations that would have killed them if they didn’t have access to reproductive health care,” Bode said.

In Bode’s response to the N&O, she wrote she would keep the current 20-week ban in place and resist any attempts to restrict abortion further.

“Many people have worked very hard to make our state a number one state for business, a destination for world-class health care and one of the best states in the country for higher education,” Bode said. “We’re not going to be able to continue to attract the talent that we need in our state if we do not maintain our status as a state that values women’s health and well being.”

Responses from all candidates who filled out the N&O’s questionnaire can be found in our 2022 Voter Guide.

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