Abortion in North Carolina
As of July 1, 2023, abortion in North Carolina is currently legal during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion related legislation existed in North Carolina by 1900, which included a therapeutic exception. National research carried out in 1967 included North Carolina data to derive estimates related to abortion procedures. State Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws were in place by 2013. North Carolina abortion laws have been before the federal judiciary, including in March 2019 when U.S. District Judge William Osteen formally struck down North Carolina's life of the mother only 20-week abortion ban. The number of abortion-providing facilities in North Carolina, including freestanding abortion clinics, has declined over the years, with: 114 facilities providing abortions in 1982, 86 facilities providing abortions in 1992, 27 facilities providing abortions in 2014 (16 of which were freestanding abortion clinics), and 26 facilities providing abortions in 2017 (14 of which were freestanding clinics). The total number of abortions in the state have generally declined over time, with a 36% decrease from 1980 to 2013. There is an abortion rights activist community in the state, with women participating in the #YouKnowMe movement, and in the #StoptheBans movement in May 2019. There is