(16 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Charlotte, North Carolina – 16 January 2025
1. Mid of North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Josh Stein walking into the room
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Gov. Josh Stein, (D) North Carolina:
“So as a state, we have a duty to support women as they navigate this emotional and complicated decision not to put more barriers in their way. That’s why I’m announcing today’s executive order. It will support women’s reproductive freedoms and their medical privacy in a number of important ways. First, I’m directing all cabinet agencies to pursue whatever opportunities are available to them to protect women’s privacy and their reproductive freedoms. I’m also directing my cabinet not to cooperate with any efforts to penalize women who’ve obtained legal reproductive health care or providers who have provided it. I’m also protecting women’s medical privacy by instructing my agencies to review what records they’re keeping about women’s health care, whether they are storing them safely, and whether we even need to retain them in the first place. Additionally, it’s critical that women, considering their options, receive medically accurate information when making this decision. We must do everything we can to ensure that women access accurate, medically sound information so they can make the best decision for themselves and their families. I’m directing the Department of Health and Human Services to make clear to the public the differences among the types of entities that provide services to pregnant women or women who may become pregnant. Finally, I’m directing the Department of Health and Human Services to take appropriate and feasible measures to ensure that women here in North Carolina have reliable access to safe legal reproductive health care medications and birth control."
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Josh Stein unveiled new measures on Thursday that extend state protections for certain health care providers and patients’ reproductive health data just a few days before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Democratic governors — such as New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s recent decision to stockpile abortion medication within the state — are taking renewed action to curb possible anti-abortion measures under Trump’s administration. Trump’s stance on abortion was largely inconsistent on the campaign trail and it’s unclear what action he will take after taking office next week.
“I don’t know what will happen, but what I am trying to communicate to the people of this state is that they have a champion in me for their personal privacy and their right to make their own health care decisions,” Stein said at a news conference.
Under the executive order, state Cabinet agencies are ordered not to cooperate with prosecution and penalties against health care providers who provided legal reproductive health services, including abortion.
State agencies also must review and revise how they store data related to a patient’s reproductive health to “maximize protections for individual privacy," according to the executive order. The state’s health and human services department is charged with ensuring access to legal birth control and reproductive health care medication in North Carolina.
Stein’s actions further cement yearslong efforts by Democratic governors to offer sanctuary to those seeking abortions across the country. North Carolina is one of the only states in the South that doesn’t restrict abortion access to six weeks or below.
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