Josh Stein, North Carolina’s attorney general, announced that he would not defend the new law protecting preborn children from abortion after 12 weeks gestation — a move that led some to accuse him of putting his personal political agenda over his job. Despite his refusal, a judge has chosen to allow most of the law to remain in effect for now.
Stein was named as defendant in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood but said he wouldn’t defend the law because he agreed with the abortion giant.
“I support women’s reproductive freedoms,” he wrote on Twitter. “After a thorough review of the case in Planned Parenthood v. Stein, I have concluded that many of the provisions in North Carolina’s anti-abortion law are unconstitutional. My office will not defend those parts of the law.”
He also said he supported a block being placed on the law while legal challenges play out, and broke the news in a press conference alongside members of the abortion industry. “My obligation is to the United States Constitution. That’s what I swear my oath to and to North Carolina law when it is not inconsistent with that Constitution,” he said, and criticized the way the law was enacted. “The way that this bill was drafted was incredibly sloppy, filled with internal contradictions that run afoul of the United States Constitution. So, that’s what I’m doing. I’m doing my job.”
That block, however, did not happen, as Judge Catherine Eagles called Planned Parenthood’s request to block the entire law “overly broad.” Throughout the hearing, she repeatedly said she was unsure if she would grant a restraining order, saying, “I don’t see any way that I’m going to enjoin Part I in its entirety.”
The law, therefore, will take effect on Saturday, July 1st, though Eagles may choose to block some parts of it.
However, last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is not a right under the U.S. Constitution. Justice Samuel Alito, writing the majority opinion, called Roe v. Wade “egregiously wrong from the start.” Stein’s appeals to the U.S. Constitution in this instance seem questionable. In addition, a proper reading of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution reveals that abortion is unconstitutional. In a video for Live Action, legal scholar Josh Craddock states, “Preborn children are constitutionally entitled to due process, and the equal protection of the law. The Constitution, properly interpreted, prohibits abortion through the 14th Amendment, and everyone who swears an oath to uphold the Constitution has a duty to ensure those rights are protected.”
Originally, the 12-week legislation was vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper, only for the legislature to override the veto. Most preborn children would be protected from abortions after 12 weeks gestation, with exceptions included for rape, incest, and medical necessity. The General Assembly also just made some changes to the legislation in a newly-passed bill, which addresses some of the concerns brought up in Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit. The changes make it clear that chemical abortions remain legal through all 12 weeks, and that abortionists can advise women on where to get an abortion outside of North Carolina.
Despite Stein’s insistence that he is merely trying to uphold the U.S. Constitution, others are claiming he is violating his office and refusing to do his job. It’s something Stein has done before; he previously refused to defend the state’s restriction on chemical abortions, and would not request for the state’s law protecting preborn children after 20 weeks to be reinstated.
“He was elected to be the attorney general of the state of North Carolina and to defend the laws of the state of North Carolina,” Senator Phil Berger said. “For him to, based on his personal preferences, to decide he is not going to do that I feel is a failure on his part to do what he was hired to do.”
