If Stein doesn’t feel like enforcing a law passed by the duly elected General Assembly and signed into law by the duly elected governor, then he should resign. But, Democrat always seem to think they do not have to enforce laws they do not like
NC attorney general won’t move to enforce state’s 20-week abortion ban
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said Thursday that he won’t work to enforce the state’s 20-week abortion ban, defying Republican lawmakers who have pressed him to do so as part of a long-running court case.
The state has a decades-old law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies. But that hasn’t been enforced because of a federal court injunction barring the state from doing so.
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case, the 20-week law is widely expected to go into effect. But there’s a procedure to follow first, and it would normally include the attorney general asking the court to reconsider the injunction.
On Thursday, Stein said he wouldn’t do that. “The Department of Justice will not take action that would restrict women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions,” Stein, a Democrat and expected candidate for governor in 2024, said in a news release. “Protecting that ability is more important than ever, as states across the nation are banning abortions in all instances, including rape and incest.”
Chapter 114 of NC law as passed by the General Assembly, which was given authority to create, among other things, the office of the Attorney General, requires the AG to enforce all NC laws. Huh. Might be looking at an impeachment proceeding the first time he blows off prosecution.
GOP lawmakers previously said that if Stein doesn’t act in the court case, they will. Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives Tim Moore, in a statement Thursday, accused Stein of disregarding his oath to defend North Carolina laws and said Republican leaders are “exploring all options to defend the law and protect life in North Carolina.”
“Despite his faux outrage, Josh Stein knows full well that the 20-week ban on the books does not limit women’s freedom, but protects the unborn when they are capable of feeling pain in the womb,” Moore said.
Does the GA want to spend time impeaching Stein? That’s the question.
Although currently legal in North Carolina, abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy are rare. Nearly 70% of abortions performed on North Carolina residents in 2020 came before the eighth week, according to Department of Health and Human statistics. Roughly 48 abortions, or 0.2%, came after the 20-week mark that year, the statistics show.
Hmm, if most came by 8 weeks, why are the abortion on demand supporters so worked up by the 20 week ban?
Read: NC AG Josh Stein Refuses To Enforce NC Law On 20 Week Abortion Ban »