Urgent: Speak Out NOW Against Anti-Abortion HB 453

UPDATE 05/12/2021:

In a whirlwind of anti-abortion activity last week at the NC General Assembly, HB 453 was rammed through two committees, rushed to the NC House floor, passed the NC House on Thursday, May 6th, and is on its way to the NC Senate.

And, if that weren’t enough, another anti-abortion bill, SB 405, picked up steam last week and is moving through the NC Senate.

Please both call and email your NC senator today and tell them to vote against HB 453 and SB 405!

If you know your Buncombe County rep, here’s their contact info:

• NC House District 114 (Northwest Buncombe): Rep. Susan Fisher, 919-715-2013, Susan.Fisher@ncleg.gov
• NC House District 115 (East Buncombe): John Ager, 919-733-5746, John.Ager@ncleg.gov
• NC House District 116 (Southwest Buncombe): Brian Turner, 919-715-3012, Brian.Turner@ncleg.gov

If you aren’t sure of your rep or if you live outside Buncombe County, use the lookup at NCLeg.gov.
CALL/EMAIL SCRIPT (if no answer, please leave this as a message):
Hi, my name is _________, I am calling to voice my strong opposition to HB 453 and SB 405, and I am calling to ask Senator_________ to vote against them. The purpose of these bills is nothing more than to strip away North Carolinians’ ability to access healthcare and control their own reproductive lives. Instead of attacks on abortion, please focus your efforts on expanding Medicaid so 600,000+ North Carolinians can access healthcare during this global pandemic, increasing services and resources for North Carolinians with disabilities, and reducing the astronomical maternal mortality rate for Black North Carolinians.

UPDATE 05/05/2021:

The anti-aborton bill HB 453 was passed in committee on Wednesday, May 5, and is on its way to the House floor for a vote, which is likely to be Thursday evening, May 6.

(05/05/2021): Anti-abortion bill HB 453 just passed the NC General Assembly House Health Committee on May 4th, on a partisan 17-9 vote. In a shockingly undemocratic move, Republicans on the committee did not allow hard-working North Carolinians, who took time off work and showed up in-person, to speak out against HB 453 and against attacks on abortion, to sign up and speak, which has been the practice for years.

HB 453 has now moved to the House Judiciary 1 Committee and is scheduled to be heard and voted on Wednesday, May 5, at 12 pm.

PLEASE call all members of the Committee TODAY and tell them to vote AGAINST it!

Click here to find your NC House Representative!

Suggested call script (if no answer, please leave this as a message):
“Hi, my name is _________, I’m calling to voice my strong opposition to HB 453, and to ask you to vote against it tomorrow in House Judiciary 1 Committee. HB 453 does not address discrimination nor the needs of people of color, people with disabilities, nor people with Down syndrome. All it would do is stigmatize and isolate people who access abortion and harmfully interfere in the relationship between patients and their doctors. If you are truly committed to preventing discrimination, then vote against HB 453 tomorrow, and focus your efforts on the actual priorities and needs of people with disabilities and communities of color, like expanding Medicaid and reducing the astronomical maternal mortality rate for Black North Carolinians.”

If you don’t have time to call all the Committee members, fill out this quick easy action alert from Planned Parenthood: https://www.weareplannedparenthoodaction.org/a/stop-hb-453

Thank you for calling and for speaking out!