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In advance of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, Democratic Governor Josh Stein aims to safeguard women’s reproductive health care in the state.
RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — Newly elected Democratic North Carolina Governor Josh Stein on Thursday issued an executive order introducing additional safeguards for women’s reproductive health care in the state.
In his order, Stein directed state agencies not to comply with efforts to prosecute patients or doctors who obtain or provide legal reproductive health care.
“Our state has seen alarming attacks on women’s reproductive rights over the past few years,” Stein said. “I remain committed to doing everything in my power to protect women’s freedoms and their privacy.”
Stein asked agencies to review and revise their data-collection policies around women’s health care. He directed the state Department of Health and Human Services to ensure residents have reliable and consistent access to safe and legal birth control.
No cabinet agency should provide medical records or data for the purposes of prosecutions over legal reproductive health care services, Stein wrote. He said that to the maximum extent possible, he would deny extradition requests related to such care.
Stein directed state law enforcement not to arrest people accused of accessing health care services in other states. He also stipulated that pregnant state employees could not be required to travel to states that barred abortions even in cases where the pregnant person’s life could be in danger.
“Women, not politicians, should make their own health care decisions,” the governor wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
North Carolina is one of several states that has taken last-minute steps to protect access to reproductive care before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Massachusetts passed an amendment to protect nurses who administer abortions, while New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced plans to stockpile the abortion drug mifepristone.
North Carolina allows abortion access for up to 12 weeks and six days — making it one of the least restrictive regimes in the South.
Neighboring South Carolina, Georgia and Florida all enforce 6-week bans, while other nearby states like Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana have banned abortion outright. The only Southern state with looser restrictions is Virginia, which allows abortions for up to 26 weeks and six days.
“Every day I see patients, including those who have traveled from states with total or near-total abortion bans, who are desperate to receive reproductive care,” said Dr. Katherine Farris, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “Bans on abortion and other forms of essential medical care are paralyzing our healthcare system, leading to substandard care, indelible harm, and death.”
“As we prepare to face more threats from hostile lawmakers across the country,” Farris added, “it has never been more important to act.”
Stein, who was previously attorney general, has been vocal about his support for reproductive freedom, refusing to defend abortion restrictions that he considers to be unconstitutional.
That stance has drawn ire from the Republican-controlled state legislature. Thursday’s executive order is Stein’s eighth since he took office on Jan. 1.
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