RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order Wednesday that will direct state agencies to take measures to prevent the prosecution of people seeking an abortion in North Carolina.
Cooper was joined by Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and state reproductive care advocates as he signed the order into action.
Executive Order 263 calls on all state agencies to "protect people or entities who are providing, assisting, seeking, or obtaining lawful reproductive health care services in North Carolina."
The order makes additional provisions preventing any agencies from using resources to impose civil or criminal charges against a person seeking reproductive health care services in North Carolina.
“The Supreme Court ripped away the constitutional right to reproductive freedom that women have relied on for five decades,” Cooper said. “For now, it’s up to the states to determine whether women get reproductive health care, and in North Carolina they still can, thanks to my veto and enough legislative votes to sustain it."
According to the Associated Press, Cooper said he would use his authority over extradition warrants to protect providers and their patients from states that could punish residents who cross state lines to seek abortions.
Cabinet agencies have also been instructed to not comply with other states attempting to gain information about abortion care information they are seeking about patients in North Carolina.
Additionally, cabinet agencies are prohibited from requiring pregnant employees to travel to a state that has imposed abortion access restrictions.
Cooper's order also calls on the Department of Public Safety and all law enforcement agencies to ensure access and exit from reproductive health care facilities in North Carolina.
North Carolina allows abortions until fetal viability. However, an abortion may occur after that event if a medical emergency caused by the pregnancy could cause the pregnant person's death.
Many states around North Carolina have or are planning to implement restrictions on abortion access. This is causing patients to go over state lines into North Carolina to receive an abortion.
According to Cooper's office, one-third of the patients on their schedule in clinics in North Carolina are from out of state this week.
"Our objective is clear: to keep abortion legal in this state," said Jenny Black, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic. "North Carolinians must elect candidates who will protect access to sexual and reproductive health care at the state level and ensure Governor Cooper has the necessary votes to sustain his veto of the all-out attacks on reproductive freedom that are sure to come."