{"id":293965,"date":"2023-06-30T10:33:18","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T15:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=293965"},"modified":"2023-06-30T06:46:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T11:46:01","slug":"north-carolina-ag-refuses-defend-pro-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/north-carolina-ag-refuses-defend-pro-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge refuses to block most of North Carolina pro-life law despite AG\u2019s refusal to defend it"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Josh Stein, North Carolina’s attorney general, announced<\/a> that he would not defend the new law protecting preborn children from abortion after 12 weeks gestation \u2014 a move that led some to accuse him of putting his personal political agenda over his job. Despite his refusal, a judge has chosen to allow most of the law to remain in effect for now.<\/p>\n

Stein was named as defendant in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood but said he wouldn’t defend the law because he agreed with the abortion giant.<\/p>\n

“I support women\u2019s reproductive freedoms,” he wrote on Twitter<\/a>. “After a thorough review of the case in Planned Parenthood v. Stein, I have concluded that many of the provisions in North Carolina\u2019s anti-abortion law are unconstitutional. My office will not defend those parts of the law.”<\/p>\n

He also said he supported a block being placed on the law while legal challenges play out, and broke the news in a press conference<\/a> alongside members of the abortion industry. \u201cMy obligation is to the United States Constitution. That\u2019s what I swear my oath to and to North Carolina law when it is not inconsistent with that Constitution,\u201d he said, and criticized the way the law was enacted. \u201cThe way that this bill was drafted was incredibly sloppy, filled with internal contradictions that run afoul of the United States Constitution. So, that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m doing my job.”<\/p>\n

That block, however, did not happen, as Judge Catherine Eagles called<\/a> Planned Parenthood’s request to block the entire law “overly broad.” Throughout the hearing, she repeatedly said she was unsure if she would grant a restraining order, saying, \u201cI don’t see any way that I’m going to enjoin Part I in its entirety.”<\/p>\n

The law, therefore, will take effect on Saturday, July 1st, though Eagles may choose to block some parts of it.<\/p>\n

However, last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization<\/em>, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is not<\/em> a right under the U.S. Constitution. Justice Samuel Alito, writing the majority opinion, called<\/a> Roe v. Wade<\/em> “egregiously wrong from the start.” Stein’s appeals to the U.S. Constitution in this instance seem questionable. In addition, a proper reading of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution reveals that abortion is unconstitutional. In a video for Live Action, legal scholar Josh Craddock states<\/a>, “Preborn children are constitutionally entitled to due process, and the equal protection of the law. The Constitution, properly interpreted, prohibits abortion through the 14th Amendment, and everyone who swears an oath to uphold the Constitution has a duty to ensure those rights are protected.\u201d<\/p>\n