A federal judge is weighing a preliminary injunction on some of North Carolina‘s new abortion restrictions, including hospital requirements for abortions later in pregnancy and requiring ultrasounds before prescribing abortion pills.
Judge Catherine Eagles, an Obama appointee, said Monday that she would make a decision on enjoining those two measures by Saturday. Eagles was responding to a petition from Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and Duke University OB/GYN Beverly Gray, who asked her to adjudicate on these aspects of the abortion legislation that she did not rule on in June when she upheld the statute passed by a veto-proof majority in the legislature.
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The abortion ban that took effect in the Tar Heel state in July prohibits most abortions after 12 weeks gestation, but it requires abortions conducted after this time limit for cases of rape, incest, or “life limiting” fetal anomalies to be performed in a hospital setting rather than an outpatient clinic.
Planned Parenthood contends that the hospital requirement is an unnecessary burden that has “no rational relationship to health and safety,” delaying abortion services and making the procedure more costly. Its records indicate that nearly 39,000 abortions were performed by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which covers North and South Carolina as well as Virginia and West Virginia, between January 2022 and June 2023, with only 0.08% requiring emergency hospital treatment.
The larger issue for Planned Parenthood, however, is the required ultrasound testing before abortion pill prescription. The law also requires that patients must have an ultrasound to confirm the location of a pregnancy before a physician prescribes abortion pills, which is only permissible under the law before six weeks gestation.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic spokeswoman Molly Rivera told the Washington Examiner that identifying the location of a pregnancy before six weeks can be a medical challenge, which often needs to be confirmed with blood work and symptomatology screening.
“Not all pregnancies can be seen on an ultrasound that early in pregnancy,” Rivera said. “Like all pregnancies, it varies from person to person.”
“The legislature said medication abortion is legal through 12 weeks. It won’t be, it can’t be, if it can’t be visible on an ultrasound,” Rivera told the North Carolina Newsline.
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that a pregnant woman receive an ultrasound for any elective procedure, including an elective abortion, to determine not only the gestational age of the child but also to ensure that the pregnancy is within the uterus as opposed to an ectopic pregnancy, which is outside the uterus.
Early pregnancy ultrasounds are also relatively routine in more complex cases, such as those with a history of ectopic pregnancy or miscarriages. Embryonic ultrasounds can detect a pregnancy within days of a missed period, according to the British Gynecology Ultrasound Center.
Rivera confirmed for the Washington Examiner that Planned Parenthood’s protocol is to diagnose and attempt to determine the location of a pregnancy before providing abortion pills or scheduling an appointment for an in-clinic procedure.
Erik Baptist, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit organization defending the Republican legislators who crafted the bill, told the Washington Examiner that the law provides “commonsense protections for women undergoing chemical and surgical abortions.”
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“We urge the court to reject this challenge and give North Carolina women the dignity and respect that comes from receiving life-affirming healthcare, not the abortion industry’s false choice between doing what’s best for the mother and protecting the life of her child,” Baptist said.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America estimates that the 12-week limitation on abortion in North Carolina will save 3,212 infants annually.
