North Carolina Abortion Ban Partially Blocked, Rest to Take Effect

A federal judge has allowed North Carolina's 12-week abortion ban to take effect, undercutting access to abortion across the South. The law also adds an in-person visit requirement to its 72-hour waiting period, making it more difficult for people from other states to travel to North Carolina for an abortion. The ban means clinics cannot provide care to patients who learn they are pregnant later on or who require more time to gather the resources to travel for an abortion. This law will have significant impacts across the South, where several states have near-total abortion bans or restrictions.