Last week, the North Carolina GOP attached a bunch of abortion restrictions to an anti-sharia law. The outrage was such that Governor Pat McCrory vowed to veto it unless significant changes were made to the bill. Hooray!
Except, no — not really.
Even though it appears that Governor McCrory will keep his word and veto the sharia law/abortion hybrid bill (HB 695), he will likely sign a new motorcycle safety/abortion hybrid bill should it pass the House and Senate and reach his desk. Yes, you read correctly. Stop rubbing your eyes.
Early this morning, the North Carolina GOP (the House Judiciary Committee, to be precise) added sweeping abortion restrictions to a bill — SB353 — that was approved by the Senate in April and which was supposed to increase fines and penalties for drivers who endanger motorcyclists on the road. So sneaky were the Republicans in this maneuver that some Democrats in the House didn’t know what the hell was happening until a few minutes before the committee meeting began.
Sneaking bills through the legislature without public notice! That’s the North Carolina way, apparently.
So now in addition to protecting motorcyclists, SB 353 bans telemedicine abortion, places burdensome regulations on abortion clinics, and will force many clinics to close.
How does McCrory feel about the new abortion/motorcycle hybrid bill?
He’s fine with it, of course. After all, it’s a different bill — sort of — than the one he promised to veto. No fuss, no muss!
Robin Marty at RH Reality Check has more:
Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory announced Wednesday morning that unless significant changes were made to HB 695, a bill ostensibly created to bar Sharia law in the state but which would greatly reduce access to safe, legal abortion in North Carolina, he would veto it. However, within a few hours of that announcement a new bill, SB 353, was reviewed by a house subcommittee, and it was rewritten to add nearly identical anti-choice amendments as those found in HB 695. Unlike the previous bill, SB 353 has the approval of the governor.
As originally written, SB 353 is a motorcycle safety act that would increase fines and penalties for drivers who endanger motorcyclists on the road. The bill had remained dormant for much of the legislative session until Judiciary Subcommittee B was informed it would be on the calendar Wednesday morning. Not all of the committee members were informed prior to the meeting that the bill had been amended to add modified versions of abortion restrictions that were inserted earlier this month into HB 695.
The war on women is getting downright absurd, wouldn’t you say?
Oy.
[via RH Reality Check; Think Progress]
#MotorcycleVagina: It’s a Thing Happening in North CarolinaPost + Comments (89)