One day after Arizona abortion ban, Charlotte-area Democrats press Republicans on abortion rights

Charlotte, NC – April 10, 2024

Democratic officials held a news conference Wednesday in Charlotte to talk about abortion rights — an issue they believe will be critical in November. President Joe Biden’s campaign organized the event a day after the Arizona Supreme Court allowed a long-dormant, pre-Civil War law that bans almost all abortions to go into effect.

One speaker was Amanda Zurawksi of Austin, Texas. She said she discovered last year — 18 weeks into her pregnancy — that her baby would not survive. She said she couldn’t get an abortion because of Texas’ new law, which bans most abortions after six weeks.

“We were told that I just had to wait until I got so sick that my life was considered in danger, which is one of the rare cases a doctor can intervene in the state of Texas,” she said. “It took three days and a near crash into septic shock before my doctor could finally provide the health care that I needed.”

Zurawski is featured in a new 60-second commercial the Biden campaign released this week. She has sued the state of Texas over the law.

The speakers blamed former President Trump’s conservative Supreme Court nominees for overturning Roe v. Wade and said more restrictions would be coming if he wins in November. Trump on Wednesday said he would not sign a federal abortion ban if elected president, leaving the issue to the states.

Democrat Nicole Sidman, who is running against Republican Tricia Cotham for a Mecklenburg state House seat, said Cotham is responsible for allowing North Carolina Republicans to enact a 12-week ban on most abortions. Cotham left the Democratic Party for the GOP, giving Republicans a supermajority that allowed them to pass a more restrictive abortion law. Earlier this year, Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said he was not in favor of any “wholesale” changes to the state’s abortion law.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found Trump with a narrow lead over Biden in North Carolina 48 to 46.

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Steve Harrison is WFAE’s politics and government reporter. Prior to joining WFAE, Steve worked at the Charlotte Observer, where he started on the business desk, then covered politics extensively as the Observer’s lead city government reporter. Steve also spent 10 years with the Miami Herald. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.

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