Attorney General Curtis Hill has joined a 19-state effort to defend the right of states to prohibit abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
“States have a well-established interest in protecting all human life, including the lives of unborn children,†Attorney General Hill said. “Although many physicians regard 24 weeks of pregnancy as the point at which a fetus may survive outside the womb, we now have scientific research indicating that unborn children may be capable of experiencing pain weeks earlier than that. A civilized and compassionate society should protect its most vulnerable individuals from preventable pain, suffering and death.â€
In addition, Attorney General Hill noted, studies show that abortions performed after 20 weeks of pregnancy are more dangerous to the health of expectant mothers than procedures performed at earlier stages of gestation. The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized that states have a valid interest in regulating abortion on the grounds of protecting women’s health and the dignity of life.
Attorney General Hill is one of 17 attorneys general and two governors who have joined their states to an amicus brief supporting the constitutionality of North Carolina’s 20-week ban as applied to abortions both before and after the point of viability. The brief also challenges the plaintiff’s ability to have brought the initial lawsuit.
