Gov. Pat McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly have once again caused controversy in our state, this time with regard to perhaps the single most controversial issue in American political discourse. Senate Bill 353, which McCrory signed Monday, limits abortion coverage under health insurance plans and prohibits abortions “when the sex of the unborn child is a significant factor in seeking the abortion.” It also requires abortion clinics to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgery centers, which could force most abortion providers in the state to close their doors.
When McCrory signed the bill, he broke his 2012 campaign promise to not add more restrictions to abortion. This further popularized the term “liar” in association with our governor.
In addition to breaking his promise, McCrory and the General Assembly passed SB353 in a deceptive manner. They tried to keep the whole abortion part of the bill under the radar by tacking it onto a bill about motorcycle safety. The first sentence of the bill describes it as “An act to modify certain laws pertaining to abortion,” but the same sentence later ends with “to increase penalties for unsafe movements by drivers that threaten the property and safety of motorcyclists.” By trying to hide these abortion restrictions in unrelated bills, we can’t help but be leery of the NCGA’s larger anti-abortion agenda.
The latest controversial action that has occurred in relation to the bill came Tuesday while Planned Parenthood supporters maintained a vigil in front of the Executive Mansion. One day after signing SB353, the governor came outside to greet the protestors with a plate of cookies. He pointed directly at Chapel Hill resident Jamie Sohn and handed her the cookies. According to Sohn, McCrory said, “These are for you. God bless you, God bless you, God bless you.”
While the governor’s intentions may have been good, his attempt at reconciliation was not well-received by the protestors, who immediately placed the cookies at the gate of the mansion with a sign that read “Will take women’s health over cookies!” Due to the fact that McCrory had just signed the very bill they were protesting on Monday, many protestors saw his gesture as a condescending “Let them eat cake” gesture, and the protestors expressed their displeasure with an impromptu chant of “Hey, Pat, that was rude. You wouldn’t give cookies to a dude.”
We acknowledge that abortion is an incredibly emotional issue; institutionally speaking, Technician is neither pro-choice nor pro-life. On our staff, as with the public at large, there are good and honorable people on both sides who believe with every fiber of their beings that their position is right. We can respect that, and we believe the issue deserves an honest debate. It’s time for us to dispense with all the Trojan horses we’ve seen from the governor and the legislature up until now. This isn’t about Sharia law, or motorcycle safety or even health standards for clinics. It’s about severely restricting abortions in North Carolina as a step toward outlawing them entirely. Let’s have that debate. To have any other debate, in our view, is far worse than having no debate at all.
