Fact check: Did NC Republicans introduce a bill making abortion punishable by death?
A proposed bill introduced by North Carolina state legislators that reportedly would make abortion punishable by death has sparked outrage after resurfacing online.
House Bill 158, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Larry Pittman last February, stated a person who “seeks to destroy the life of another person, by any means, at any stage of life, or succeeds in doing so, shall be held accountable for attempted murder or for first-degree murder, respectively.”
If signed into law, the bill would have also given people the right to use deadly force when defending the life of a person who is “born or unborn,” the document stated.
Though drafted in 2021, the bill has been shared by many on Twitter, including Santiago Mayer, the founder of Voters of Tomorrow, a nonprofit that promotes youth engagement in politics.
Mayer tweeted a thread with a photo of the bill on July 18 saying, “Republicans in North Carolina just introduced a bill that’d make abortion punishable with death.” The tweet was retweeted by more than 23,000 people. Similar posts were shared on Facebook and Instagram, according to AFP Fact Checker Natalie Wade.
While many online believe it was written recently, the dated bill received little support from state legislators and didn’t advance.
In a follow-up tweet two days later, after other users pointed out that the bill was introduced more than a year ago, Mayer acknowledged that the bill had been “stuck in committee for a bit.”
The legislation was referred to different committees after it was introduced and ultimately referred to the Commission for Judiciary last August and since has not advanced.
Many states have outlawed abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, but the procedure remains legal in North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order this month aimed to protect abortion services in the state, The News & Observer reported.
