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North Carolina may become the latest state to pass protective legislation in the wake of the murder convictions of abortionist Kermit Gosnell.

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On a 27-14 vote, the state Senate yesterday passed a measure with a number of ingredients similar to legislation passed in states like Ohio and, hopefully, soon in Texas. Some of the proposals have been passed in the House, but another vote is required to square the two bills before it is sent to Gov. Pat McCrory.

The bill requires that abortion clinics meet the same licensing standards as surgical centers. If you go to the grand report that set the stage for the prosecution of Gosnell you see a commendation that abortion centers be licensed as ambulatory surgical facilities. The bill would also require abortion clinics to make an arragement with a local hospital for transfer of patients in the case of a medical emergency.

In addition, the bill prevents abortions that are solely based on the sex of the unborn child—gendercide—and protects the right of taxpayers to not have public funds used to pay for abortions.

Finally, the measure would require that abortionists be in the room when the abortifacients are dispensed to the woman, rather than be hundreds of miles away communicating only by webcam or skype.

It is quite common for pro-life bills to be caught in a time squeeze as the legislative session approaches its conclusion, exactly what happened in Texas with its first special session. But late Tuesday night, pro-life state senators attached the provisions to an unrelated bill and then voted on them yesterday.

“I think the people of North Carolina have been waiting for this for a long time,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, JD, the director of NRLC’s Department of State legislation. “They know that when these bills go into laws, they will save lives.”

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She told NRL News Today that for decades opponents have used procedural efforts to thwart pro-life bills. “The time has come when these delaying tactics will not succeed.”

Pro-Lifers have been particularly successful in recent weeks. As noted in “Texas House Committee Passes Pro-Life HB2,” pro-lifers are determined to pass omnibus pro-life legislation. It has already passed a House committee and is expected to pass the full House next week.

In addition in Ohio, five pro-life amendments to the budget were passed and then signed into law by pro-life Governor John Kasich. They include

· Reprioritization of family planning funds away from Planned Parenthood

· Heartbeat informed consent requirement

· Establishment of new funding for pregnancy centers

· Ban on public hospitals from entering into transfer agreements with abortion clinics; and

· Strengthening of abortion clinic regulation.

As reported earlier this week nearly 99% of the Kansas Pro-life Protections Act, HB 2253, went into effect on Monday after the Center for Women’s Health (CWH) in Overland Park failed to get the entire law enjoined in state court.

And good news from the state health departments in Minnesota and Indiana. Both revealed that abortion rates continue to decline.

Reprinted with permission from nationalrighttolifenews.org