The North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that includes some last-minute changes to the state’s recently passed abortion law.
The Republican-controlled legislature sent the bill to the Democratic governor’s desk, just a day before a federal judge is set to hear a motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the abortion law from taking effect. The new law, which bans most abortions after 12 weeks, is set to go into effect on July 1.
CNN has reached out to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office about his plans for the bill.
The surprise amendment, which makes significant tweaks to the new abortion law, was added to House Bill 190, an unrelated measure focusing on the Department of Health and Human Services late last week in the state Senate.
In a Tuesday filing in opposition to granting the temporary restraining order, on behalf of Republican House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger, attorneys admitted that the changes contained in the amendment were addressing issues raised by the lawsuit.
“The Legislative Leaders respectfully request that the Court deny the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (‘TRO’), and permit normal briefing on preliminary injunction issues, if any, that may remain,” wrote W. Ellis Boyle, an attorney for Moore and Berger. “The General Assembly is working to pass and enact, with or without the Governor’s signature, a technical and conforming bill to make changes to clarify and address most, if not all, aspects of Plaintiffs’ claims about the Act.”
The lawsuit filed earlier this month by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, along with other organizations and an OB/GYN, claims the legislation contains several inconsistencies and vague language that could potentially violate constitutional rights.
For example, the lawsuit questions whether a…
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