North Carolina GOP legislators making changes to new abortion law days before enforcement

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislators have rolled out adjustments to the state’s new abortion restrictions set to take effect in days. The Senate voted on Thursday for what GOP lawmakers called clarifying and technical changes to a new law that as of July 1 will prohibit nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. But the language also appears to be an attempt to thwart a federal lawsuit that seeks to have all or parts of that law declared unconstitutional. These adjustments still require more affirmative votes in the General Assembly before it goes to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who vetoed the underlying measure. The GOP-controlled legislature overrode that veto.