Bill Summary for S 848 (2023-2024)
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View NCGA Bill Details | 2023-2024 Session |
AN ACT TO CODIFY ROE AND CASEY PROTECTIONS; TO PRESERVE WOMEN'S ACCESS TO OUT-OF-STATE ABORTIONS; TO CRIMINALIZE THE INTERFERENCE WITH A WOMAN SEEKING AN ABORTION; TO CREATE A PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION AGAINST AN INDIVIDUAL WHO INTERFERES WITH A WOMAN SEEKING AN ABORTION; TO DECLARE THE RIGHT TO USE CONTRACEPTION TO PREVENT PREGNANCY SHALL NOT BE LIMITED; TO PROHIBIT THE TRACKING OF INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION; TO CLARIFY THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION TO ABORTIONS ARE NOT CRIMINALLY LIABLE; AND TO PROHIBIT GEOFENCING WITHIN A ONE-MILE RADIUS OF A HEALTHCARE FACILITY THAT PROVIDES ABORTIONS.Intro. by Batch, Smith, Grafstein.
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Bill summary
Part I.
Enacts Article 1M in GS Chapter 90, to be known as "Codify Roe and Casey Protections" providing as follows. Sets out the Article's purpose. Prohibits the State from imposing an undue burden on the ability of a woman to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability. Specifies that the State may: (1) restrict the ability of a woman to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability, unless termination is necessary to preserve the woman's life or health or (2) enact laws, rules, or regulations, to further the health or safety of a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy. Defines undue burden to mean any burden that places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability. Specifies that the Article does not have an effect on laws regarding conscience protection.
Part II.
Enacts new GS 90-21.94, which provides that women in the State have the right to access reproductive healthcare in other states. Makes it lawful to assist or support an individual seeking an abortion or obtaining contraception in another state. Exempts abortions performed or initiated in another state from the civil remedies provisions of GS 90-21.88.
Part III.
Enacts new GS 14-277.9, making it a Class H felony to engage in any one of four specified acts towards a person seeking an abortion, including threats, harassment, misuse of personal information, or blocking ingress or egress of a healthcare facility. Effective December 1, 2024.
Part IV.
Amends GS 99D-1 to provide for a private right of action for any of the acts described in Part III 3, with remedies including injunctions, compensatory and punitive damages, and costs and attorneys’ fees. Requires actions to be brought within the later of 25 years of the conduct or four years after discovery of the conduct. Effective October 1, 2024, and applies to violations committed on or after that date.
Part V.
Enacts the Right to Use Contraception Act (Article 44 to GS Chapter 90), declaring that the “right to use contraception implicates the fundamental liberty to prevent pregnancy. It is the policy of the State of North Carolina that this State has no legitimate governmental interest in limiting the freedom to use contraception to prevent pregnancy.”
Part VI.
Enacts the Emergency Contraception Financial Privacy Act (Article 52 to GS Chapter 66), which prevents merchants, payment card networks, banks, or retailers from (1) assigning a payment code or other code that identifies a transaction as made for emergency contraception, (2) maintaining a record of individuals in the State who have purchased emergency contraception, and (3) knowingly disclosing the identity of an individual who has purchased emergency contraception.
Part VII.
Enacts new GS 90-21.95, which specifies that no person who provides transportation to a woman to a healthcare facility where an abortion is performed on that woman is criminally liable for the sole reason of providing transportation.
Part VIII.
Makes it unlawful under new GS 90-21.96 for an individual or entity to geofence (defined as technology that uses global positioning coordinates, cell tower connectivity, cellular data, radio frequency identification, Wi-Fi data, or any other form of spatial or location detection to establish a virtual boundary around a specific physical location or to locate a consumer within a virtual boundary) within a one-mile radius of any healthcare facility that performs abortions if it used for any one of three specified purposes.
Part IX.
Appropriates $500,000 in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services for 2024-25 to implement and promote awareness of these changes in reproductive health services laws. Requires that the funds be allocated for public education campaigns, training healthcare professionals, ensuring access to safe and legal abortion services, and protecting the privacy of individuals seeking reproductive health services. Effective July 1, 2024.
Part X.
Includes a severability clause.