Heartbreak for NC Dems As GOP Supermajority Overrides Gov’s Veto on Abortion Bill

In early April, North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham made national headlines and infuriated her fellow Democrats when she announced she was switching to the Republican party, officially handing the House GOP the power to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s numerous vetoes in the process.

The big question on the minds of the Usual Suspects in the media and on the pro-abortion left in the aftermath was how would Cotham vote on abortion-related legislation, which she had mostly sided with Democrats on in past votes.

She answered her critics a month later, voting in favor of a bill that shortened the time frame for women seeking abortions from the original 20-week limit to 12, with exceptions for rape, incest, severe fetal conditions, and the mother’s health.

And on Tuesday, just a few days after term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper – surrounded by radical pro-abortion activists – made a very public show of vetoing the bill after putting pressure on four Republicans in the House including Cotham to sustain it, Cotham along with the three other Republicans Cooper tried to shame voted with every other Republican to override his veto.

Coupled with the North Carolina Senate overriding it earlier in the day, this meant that SB20 – the “Care for Women, Children, and Families Act” – became law.

Cotham explained her support for the bill in a statement:

“I insisted that any abortion legislation include meaningful support and protections to mothers and children to give them the best chance at a good life. This bill provides hundreds of millions of dollars in support for paid parental leave, maternal healthcare, foster care, contraception, and community college tuition and job placement supports to ensure that women and their children have choices, protections and pathways to success. Finally, this bill provides important protections to mothers and children by keeping weapons out of the hands of domestic abusers and ensuring sexual child predators have lifetime GPS monitoring and tracking.

“Some call me a hypocrite since I voted for this bill. They presume to know my story. As I said at the time, I had an ectopic pregnancy that sadly ended in miscarriage, not an elective abortion. In fact, Senate Bill 20 affirms the life-saving care I received in that dire situation. It was very important to me that this legislation protects all women going through a miscarriage or other complications – and it most certainly does.”

Along with Cooper, the Biden White House was not amused, declaring the bill “dangerous” and “out of touch with the majority of North Carolinians” and claiming without evidence that it “will make it even more difficult for women to get the reproductive health care they need.”

Now would be a good time to post a “how it started/how it’s going” update for NC Democrats.

Here’s how NC Senate Dems yucked it up for the camera three years ago when Republicans were unsuccessful in overriding a Cooper veto of the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act“:

Pro-abortion Democratic state senators in North Carolina smile & celebrate over their belief that a veto by our Dem gov of a pro-life bill meant to protect babies born alive from botched abortions will fail to be overridden. Let that sink in. Absolute ghouls. #ncpol #ncga #SB359 https://t.co/xzdRFRrIVD

— Sister Toldjah 💙 (@sistertoldjah) June 5, 2019

And now, check out the below photos of Cotham trolling far-left protesters as they were escorted out of the House gallery on the day of the veto override:

N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Mecklenburg County Republican and former Democrat, mouths the words “I see you,” as protesters are escorted from the House gallery by police after a party-line vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of an abortion restriction bill. #ncpol #sb20 pic.twitter.com/0ej8u3VpEP

— Travis Long (@vizjourno) May 17, 2023