With abortion waiting period veto, Gov. Perdue makes NC veto history

Just call her “Veto Bev“:

GREENSBORO – Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed a bill that would have imposed a waiting period and other restrictions on women seeking abortions during a stop in Greensboro this afternoon.

Republican lawmakers, who control both the House and Senate, say the bill is necessary to ensure that women seeking abortions get complete information about the procedure. But opponents have said the proposed law would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

This is the 10th veto of the year for Perdue, a Democrat. That total equals the tally of all other vetoes issued between when North Carolina governors first got the power to reject bills in 1997 through 2010. This year also marks the first time a governor with veto powers has faced a General Assembly completely controlled by a different political party.

As to whether or not this veto can be overridden, it’s not a sure thing – not even with a GOP majority in the state legislature:

The big veto was H854, the bill that would have required a waiting period, an ultrasound, and special counseling before an abortion. Gov. Perdue is pro-choice, so it wasn’t a big surprise that she vetoed it. The question now is whether the Democrats will uphold it. Three of the Party of Five – Reps Brisson, Spear and Hill – voted for the bill in the House. Republicans would need to pick up at least one more Democratic vote to override the veto.

Which means the bill will probably have to be watered down, vetoed again, and then overriden before it would be able to become law.

I should point out that back in May Perdue signed into law a bill that would protect unborn children from injury and death at the hands of a violent criminal. Kinda interesting that it’s a crime to injury or kill an unborn baby if you’re not an abortion doctor but it’s ok to hurt and kill the unborn fetus with the mother’s permission.

Just sayin’.

Anyway, here’s a list of the 84 bills that were on the table today, and how Perdue addressed them: 2 vetoes, 2 not signed, and 80 signed into law. Last week she vetoed the Voter ID bill. It’s unclear at this point whether the GOP will attempt an override.

Perdue’s campaign informally declared late last year that she will seek re-election in 2012. Her approval numbers in this state have been under 40% for well over a year now. Unless the economy does a miraculous turn-around she, like our celebrity President, could face a tough re-election year.

Related Reading:

Comments are closed.