Democrats unite behind a bill to codify Roe, signaling resistance to Republican plans

Every Democrat in the North Carolina General Assembly has signed on to sponsor a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade abortion protections, showing a unified front as Republicans aim to further restrict abortion access.

“House Democrats are united on this critical issue for the women of North Carolina,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said in a press release Tuesday. “We understand that important decisions about health care should happen in a doctor’s office, not a legislator’s office. This legislation would enshrine the protections that women have had for half a century into North Carolina law.”

The legislation, filed jointly in the House and Senate as the Codify Roe and Casey Protections Act, has virtually no chance of passing the Republican-controlled legislature. However, the fact that all Democrats support it does bolster hopes among abortion rights activists that Democrats will uphold Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto if he strikes down an abortion ban.

“We have had the support of Gov. Cooper for many years, and his unwavering support to the people of this state, to maintain the status quo around abortion and reject any abortion ban is something we expect to see this legislative session,” Jillian Riley, of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We also are confident that we’ll be able to sustain Cooper’s veto when it comes down to a potential veto override vote.”

In an interview with The News & Observer, Reives said he wouldn’t interpret individual Democrats’ sponsorship of the bill as a guarantee that they won’t vote with Republicans on an abortion bill in the future.

“I definitely would not try to presuppose or to go forward thinking that ‘OK, a signature on this means that all these other things are going to happen,’ because we really don’t know what they’re gonna do,” he said.

Republicans leaders have promised a bill to restrict abortion this session, but a specific proposal has yet to be released. Last year, Senate Leader Phil Berger expressed support for a ban around 13 weeks of pregnancy, while House Speaker Tim Moore floated a fetal heartbeat ban that would cut off abortion access after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Republicans in the state Senate have a supermajority capable of overturning a veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, but House Republicans are one vote shy of the numbers they need to rebuff Cooper’s vetoes. Moore told reporters last week he was confident the party could overturn a potential veto on an abortion bill.

“I want to be clear on this: If we pass a bill and it is vetoed, it will be our intention to override that veto,” Moore said. “And whenever I see that we have the votes to do that... we will override it.”

Moore emphasized that a floor vote wouldn’t “just come out of nowhere” without prior notification. But Democrats have been skeptical of a temporary rules package Republicans passed earlier this month that eliminates the requirement for leaders to give two days’ notice before an override vote.

When Democrats announced their bill to codify Roe last week, several party members had not signed on as sponsors, including three Democrats who were given committee chair positions by Republican leadership. Several Democrats who weren’t listed as sponsors were seen as possible swing votes — potential tiebreakers in a Republican bid to overturn a veto on abortion legislation.

As of Tuesday, though, all Democrats from both the House and Senate had signed on.

“To my knowledge, it was a matter of everybody just sitting down and sitting at their computers and doing it,” Reives said.

With Democrats seemingly united on abortion, House Republicans may need to count on Democrats missing a vote in order to pass the stricter abortion laws they promised during 2022’s midterms campaign.

“To me, it’s pretty simple,” Reives said. “If there’s no intent for trickery, then there’s no need to change the rules.”

If an override vote is brought to the floor with little notice, even one Democrat being absent from the chamber could result in new abortion restrictions becoming law.

“All I can do is tell people to be here and ask them to do that,” Reives said. “But I think it’s incredibly unfair to members of the minority party.”

Politics reporter Avi Bajpai contributed to this story.