The Future of Abortion Rights in North Carolina

Written By Nikki Mahendru

Written by Ella Basset

The State of Abortion Care Today

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization dismantled the protections to abortion once secured by Roe v. Wade, prompting  an onslaught of state legislation threatening the provision of evidence-based abortion care. These prohibitions of care are severely threatening the lives and livelihoods of patients and are poised to exacerbate existing racial and economic disparities in maternal health outcomes.

Following the decision, the North Carolina General Assembly passed Senate Bill 20, banning abortion for most patients after 12 weeks of pregnancy and imposing barriers to care at all stages with unnecessary appointment requirements, restrictions on medication abortion availability, and state-mandated, non-scientific, anti-abortion counseling materials.2

Among the providers profoundly impacted by this legislation are the 9 Planned Parenthood health clinics across the state. As part of the organization’s advocacy arm, Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic is working to defend access to reproductive healthcare through electoral work, education, and lobbying. In the first presidential election since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, discussions of abortion care are of particular political salience, from remarks on national stages to exchanges between neighbors. Planned Parenthood Votes has long been a leader in elevating accuracy and empathy in these discussions, and the present political moment is no exception.

Changing the Conversation: Combating Abortion Stigma and Falsehoods

Emma Horst-Martz is a community organizer for Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic, coordinating grassroots efforts to elevate candidates committed to safeguarding reproductive freedoms. She is an experienced advocate for bodily autonomy well-versed in the realities of abortion care. Emma regularly connects with voters across the state, often delving into lengthy discussions at their doorsteps during the organization's “deep canvassing” programming. She and her volunteers aim to combat the harmful, non-scientific misconceptions and falsehoods surrounding abortion care.

Horst-Martz explains, “One of the most common things I hear from people at the doors is, ‘I support the right to choose but I don’t think it’s right for people to use abortion as birth control.’” This expression is fundamentally inaccurate. Abortion ends a pregnancy while contraception prevents pregnancy. It is not possible to “use abortion as birth control.” But the sentiment behind the statement is also harmful. It suggests disdain for patients who have multiple abortions or elective abortions. Emma works to dispel this stigma by emphasizing “Abortion is value neutral. There aren't good reasons to have an abortion and bad reasons to have an abortion.”

Many other popular constructions have neglected to consider the concrete experiences of patients. In closely monitoring local and national sentiment, Emma observes, “People always bring up the option of adoption as an alternative. I think it’s really important to remind people that pregnancy is a dangerous health condition. Forcing someone to go through 9 months or more of pregnancy is torture if they don’t want to do that.” The Human Rights Watch similarly identifies the sweeping national impacts of the Dobbs decision as violations of the United States’ international obligations to protect freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.3

Further, some abortion opponents falsely imply or assert that abortion care is physically or psychologically dangerous. Abortion is a common and safe medical intervention.4 A rigorous longitudinal research endeavor by the University of California San Francisco known as The Turnaway Study found that denying women abortion care had long-term adverse impacts on their financial and psychosocial wellbeing. The study soundly invalidated the suggestion that receiving an abortion often leads to regret. 95% of women participants of The Turnaway Study from across the country reported that having an abortion was the right decision for them over five years after the procedure.5

A final misrepresentation that Emma emphasizes as particularly dangerous is the careless reference to so-called “late-term” abortions. “That term even reveals how little the majority of people know about pregnancy. At Planned Parenthood, we don’t use that term because it is medically inaccurate.” Referring to a pregnancy at term, she explains, “If you are emptying the uterus for any reason at that point other than everything’s going smoothly, it’s because something has gone extremely wrong, and at that point generally a traumatizing process, and it means that you're losing a very much wanted pregnancy.”

These understandings of abortion care are foundational to facilitating productive conversations. In addition, personal storytelling is the most effective way to change the way that someone sees the issue. 

Emma’s call to action? Have open conversations with your friends. Get comfortable talking about abortion. Do it in a gender-inclusive, non-judgemental, value-neutral way.

Electoral Politics and the Stakes for Reproductive Freedom

The outcome of the November 5th election will dictate the future of reproductive rights at the state and national level. 

Vice President Harris has demonstrated empathy and understanding when it comes to the adverse impacts of abortion restrictions. Harris has made reproductive healthcare at large a priority of her public service, never wavering in her agenda to protect access to abortion care. The core of her message frames abortion access as a matter of individual freedom while also emphasizing the collective societal harm that present bans are imposing.

Efforts to mobilize voters for Vice President Harris and down-ballot champions for reproductive freedom have been led by Duke’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGEN) chapter. The organization's president, Katelyn Sheets, has been an advocate for abortion access in her home state of North Carolina for years, growing up in a climate of pervasive and oftentimes deceitful legislative threats to abortion care. In 2016, Katelyn began to feel an acute responsibility to contribute actively to the movement for abortion rights, realizing with age that the issue is one of deep personal implications and not merely an abstraction. As is critical for any PPGEN leader, Katelyn does not shy away from difficult conversations about abortion care. She approaches interactions equipped with destigmatizing language and the voice of an advocate determined to create a more just reproductive health landscape.

Leading up to the election, PPGEN continues to educate voters on the current hostility of state legislators towards abortion care. If the present anti-abortion supermajority remains, the legislature is likely to impose a ban on abortion after 6 week gestation, one that ]imperils patients in dire need of services and disrupts the downstream delivery of other vital forms of OB-GYN care.

Whether through phone-banking or tabling on campus, PPGEN’s central message to voters is simple: The political threats to our reproductive freedom are real even if they may seem theoretical or remote for many of us right now. Katelyn urges students to consider the impacts of abortion restrictions both within and far beyond the borders of our campus. 

“Millions of women across the state will be impacted by further abortion restrictions. And not just in North Carolina – NC is the closest place to get an abortion for millions of women in the deep South with more restrictive bans. Put yourself in the shoes of a 15 year-old who just wants to finish high school. A mother with a high-risk pregnancy who wants to stay healthy and alive to take care of the children she already has. An expectant mother who miscarried and needs a D&C procedure to save her life and prevent infection. These policies impact real people, and preserving reproductive freedom is critical for millions of North Carolinians.”


No matter your identity or ideology, abortion is your issue, and voting is only the baseline level of involvement. Reticence to speak up about the necessity of abortion care is understandable in many ways. But our passion surrounding this issue requires a productive channel. Emma and Katelyn exemplify this. Summoning your drive and activist energy is as crucial as ever. Please consider this your formal invitation.


Resources and References:

Early voting in North Carolina continues through November 2 at 3pm with election day on November 5. Register and make a voting plan at vote.gov/register/north-carolina.


  1. Kozhimannil, K. B., Hassan, A., & Hardeman, R. R. (2022). Abortion Access as a Racial Justice Issue. The New England journal of medicine, 387(17), 1537–1539. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2209737

  2. Key Facts about Senate Bill 20. (2023b, August 24). ACLU of North Carolina. https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/en/sb20-key-facts 

  3.  Human rights crisis: Abortion in the United States after Dobbs. (2023, April 18). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/18/human-rights-crisis-abortion-united-states-after-dobbs#_ftnref200 

  4. Abortion Access fact sheet. (2024). ACOG. https://www.acog.org/advocacy/abortion-is-essential/come-prepared/abortion-access-fact-sheet 

  5. University of California San Francisco. (2022, June 23). UCSF Turnaway Study Shows Impact of Abortion Access on Well-Being | UC San Francisco. UCSF Turnaway Study Shows Impact of Abortion Access on Well-Being | UC San Francisco. https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2022/06/423161/ucsf-turnaway-study-shows-impact-abortion-access 

Nikki Mahendru
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