NC governor signs executive order protecting abortion access

by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signs an executive order designed to protect abortion rights in the state at the Executive Mansion in Raleigh, N.C. on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. The order in part prevents the extradition of a woman who receives an abortion in North Carolina but may live in another state where the procedure is barred.

(AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson).

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order Wednesday shielding out-of-state abortion patients from extradition and prohibiting state agencies under his control from assisting other states’ prosecutions of those who travel for the procedure.

Cooper joined a growing number of Democratic governors seeking to offer sanctuary in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning abortion protections.

In announcing the executive order, Cooper said he would use his authority over extradition warrants to protect providers and their patients from states that could punish residents who cross state lines to seek abortions. His executive order instructs Cabinet agencies not to comply with law enforcement agencies from other states pursuing information about abortion patients in North Carolina.

“This order will help protect North Carolina doctors and nurses and their patients from cruel, right-wing, criminal laws passed by other states,” Cooper said Wednesday at a news conference alongside Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson.