1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I strongly oppose the proposed total abortion ban in North Carolina, HB 804, which would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by life in prison. The bill only allows abortions to save the life of the woman, explicitly excluding cases where she may be suicidal. This cruel provision ignores that being forced to remain pregnant against one's will can itself provoke suicidal ideation. The proposal also grants personhood at fertilization and requires doctors to attempt to deliver fetuses alive during abortion procedures. This extreme legislation represents an alarming escalation even beyond the previous 12-week ban that was deceptively labeled a "compromise." It is clear that anti-abortion forces will never be satisfied and will continually push to eliminate reproductive rights entirely. For the health, autonomy, and wellbeing of women and families in North Carolina, this extreme total abortion ban must be vehemently opposed and rejected. The freedoms at stake are too fundamental and consequential.