Nearly two-thirds of North Carolina voters support protecting unborn children by at least 12 weeks, according to a poll by Differentiator Data. Only 22% of voters agree with allowing abortion up until birth, the position held by Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein. The poll surveyed 500 registered voters from January 9-12, 2023, and has a margin of error of 4.5%.
Key poll findings include:
- 62% of North Carolinians support legislation to protect unborn babies by at least 12 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.
- 68% of Unaffiliated voters support such legislation.
- 61% of women want to protect babies by 12 weeks.
- North Carolinians widely support the state’s existing laws requiring parental consent (67%), a 72-hour waiting period (57%) and an ultrasound prior to an abortion (55%).
Pro-life legislators this evening announced a bill protecting life at 12 weeks, eight weeks sooner than is provided under current state law. The bill places guardrails around dangerous abortion pills and increases support for mothers and families. This follows the legislature advancing over $11 million in support for pregnancy centers in the budget.
Caitlin Connors, southern regional director for SBA Pro-Life America, says the organization supports this effort:
“Allowing abortion up to 20 weeks – halfway through pregnancy and well past the point science shows an unborn child can feel pain – is not acceptable to the people of North Carolina. They are compassionate and rightly concerned with their state becoming an abortion destination. In the months after the Dobbs Supreme Court victory, some states moved swiftly to strengthen protections for unborn children and mothers, but under pro-abortion extremists like Roy Cooper and Josh Stein, North Carolina fell behind. Thousands more innocent babies have lost their lives in brutal abortions in the state, around 800 a month more on average. We’re talking about human beings with beating hearts and unique facial features, who suck their thumbs and react to touch. We urge the legislature to update the laws to reflect science and the will of the people.”
Based on the most recent CDC data, protecting unborn children at 12 weeks would impact over 3,000 lives within the state each year and lessen abortion tourism in the state which contributed to a nearly 25% increase in abortions in the first six months after the Dobbs decision.
By 12 weeks’ gestation, all major organs have formed and the heart has beat over 10 million times. At this stage, babies suck their thumbs and already have a right-hand or left-hand preference. Prominent facial features including the nose, cheeks, eyes and ears are recognizable; teeth are developing; and the body responds to touch. For more information on fetal development, see Charlotte Lozier Institute’s “12 Facts at 12 Weeks.”
