(The Center Square) — Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and others recently withdrew a lawsuit challenging five North Carolina abortion statutes, though the voluntary dismissal allows them to refile at any time.
Planned Parenthood filed the voluntary dismissal without prejudice last week, ending its legal challenge to five laws approved by the Legislature more than a decade ago to protect unborn children.
Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit legal organization that represented North Carolina lawmakers, hailed the filing as “a victory for mothers and unborn children in North Carolina.”
“Every woman deserves to have all the information she needs to make the healthiest choice for everyone involved in an unexpected pregnancy,” said ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle. “Tragically, many women turn to abortion as a last resort, unaware of the resources available to them or the harms of abortion. No one benefits more from this situation than abortionists and their facilities.
“We’re pleased to have favorably closed this case on behalf of the legislators we represent, and to see these life-saving state laws that empower women remain in effect,” she said.
Planned Parenthood, the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, and others filed the lawsuit in 2020 alleging the laws violate several provisions of the North Carolina Constitution, and as recently as October had sought a preliminary injunction against one law in particular, which requires physicians to administer drugs for a chemical abortion.
Other laws challenged in the lawsuit include a prohibition on telemedicine abortions, a 72-hour informed consent period before an abortion, a requirement for informed consent before an abortion and safety codes required for abortion facilities.
The case was scheduled for litigation in September 2023.
In December, attorneys for House Speaker Timothy Moore, R-Cleveland, filed a motion asking a three-judge panel to dismiss the case, citing the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned legal precedent in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
“The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs removed any doubt that states have the authority to limit abortion in a way that promotes life and ensures health and safety,” the motion read. “Dobbs overruled Roe and Casey, held there is no federal constitutional right to an abortion, and declared that ‘the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.'”
The decision to abandon the lawsuit comes as lawmakers in the Republican-controlled General Assembly are expected to consider additional abortion restrictions next year. Those efforts were vetoed by Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper in prior sessions, but Republicans gained a supermajority in the Senate and came within one seat of a supermajority in the House during the November election.
Voters also elected two Republican state Supreme Court justices, shifting the court’s makeup from a 4-3 Democrat majority to a 5-2 Republican majority.
“It is clear that our best path forward to protect access to abortion in North Carolina is through the state Legislature. North Carolina remains a critical access point not only for North Carolinians but for the thousands of people traveling here from neighboring states for this essential health care,” a spokesperson for the plaintiffs said. “The fight to protect legal abortion in North Carolina doesn’t end here, and abortion providers continue to do everything they can to provide this health care to every person who needs it.”
