CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to visit Charlotte Saturday morning and make remarks on the one-year anniversary of Roe vs. Wade being overturned.
The visit comes as the state's abortion bill is about to become law, which bans nearly all abortions after 12 weeks. Before, it was 20 weeks.
Groups including ACLU and Planned Parenthood said they are planning to rally together once again in the coming days.
Jillian Riley, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, said this is a somber time.
"Planned Parenthood and the ACLU have filed a lawsuit against SB 20, targeting some of those provisions in the abortion ban that we just don't think makes sense for North Carolina," Riley said.
North Carolina is one of the only states in the South where abortion care is still legally available.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year removed a federal right to abortion, giving states the right to pass their own laws. The North Carolina general assembly passed a bill in May saying abortion is no longer legal after 12 weeks, which will now go into effect on July 1 after the Republican super majority overrode Gov. Roy Cooper's veto.
A final blow came on Thursday to abortion rights advocates, including Planned Parenthood, when they said legislators included an amendment bill addressing medication abortions, banning them after 12 weeks as well.
Riley said the ban is dangerous for women's health care.
"No matter how you might feel about abortion, a ban is a ban, and so we know that this sweeping abortion ban is not just a 12-week ban, but it actually puts so many restrictions at all stages of pregnancy," Riley said. "For anti-abortion lawmakers to come at the last hour to try to undermine our lawsuit really tells me that we do have a strong case. And it is possible to move forward legally, against this abortion ban."
Cooper is expected to join Vice President Harris in Charlotte Saturday morning.