H.B. 465: An Anti-Choice Bill Full of Contradictions

In North Carolina, anti-choice politicians have filed H.B. 465 which will not only extend the state’s waiting period to 72 hours and only allow OB-GYNs to provide abortion care, the bill will also prevent the medical schools at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University from training students on how to provide abortion care.

When talking about the bill she filed with three other anti-abortion politicians, State Representative Pat McElraft appears to regularly contradict herself. In one breath, she claims the intention of the bill is not “to try to restrict a woman’s right to have an abortion,” but in the other points out the goal of extending the waiting period to 3 days could lead to even fewer abortions.

However, the most glaring contradiction Representative McElraft makes is:

When she explained the bill to reporters, McElraft said it was designed to ensure that women receive “competent” care. However, the measure would block two of the state’s medical schools from training doctors in the procedure.

“There are opportunities for doctors to learn this,” McElraft said. “Abortion physicians learn from all kinds of training – spontaneous abortions or miscarriages. Sometimes, you learn how to act in an emergency situation. There are other options.”

However, the rules for training doctors in the procedure require hands-on experience, [Jennifer James, a spokeswoman for UNC Hospitals and the School of Medicine] said.

North Carolina’s H.B. 465 is just another example of anti-abortion politicians ignoring the evidence-based best practices supported by medical experts like the American College of OB-GYNs and the American Medical Association in order to score political points.

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