Its purpose: Interfere with a woman’s constitutional rights. Gov. Perdue’s response: She vetoed House Bill 854, the so-called “Women’s Right to Know Act.” It would’ve required women to delay having an abortion until they’d sat through a spiel about why they shouldn’t, thought about it for 24 hours — and paid for an ultrasound.
From the Governor’s office:
Gov. Perdue today vetoed H.B. 854 and issued the following statement:
“This bill is a dangerous intrusion into the confidential relationship that exists between women and their doctors. The bill contains provisions that are the most extreme in the nation in terms of interfering with that relationship. Physicians must be free to advise and treat their patients based on their medical knowledge and expertise and not have their advice overridden by elected officials seeking to impose their own ideological agenda on others.”
Reaction from Planned Parenthood of Central NC:
Planned Parenthood applauds Governor Perdue for vetoing HB 854, which would impose medically unnecessary delays and biased counseling on women seeking abortion care.
It’s clear that Governor Perdue, unlike North Carolina’s current House and Senate leadership, trusts women to make personal, private health decisions without government interference. She understands that women think very seriously about their options when faced with an unintended pregnancy. They consult their families and trusted medical professionals and make a decision based on their own personal circumstances, needs and beliefs.
Planned Parenthood urges legislators to sustain the Governor’s veto and stop the divisive attacks on access to healthcare that characterized this legislative session.
About that override: The bill passed both houses by wide margins; but in both the House and Senate, it was one vote short of the three-fifths majority leaded to override Perdue’s veto. In other words, to override her, the Republicans need to find another vote in each of the two chambers.
