North Carolina Senate Passes Restrictive Abortion Bill
Governor is expected to sign it into law
(CNN) — North Carolina's Senate passed a restrictive abortion bill Thursday, and it now heads to Gov. Pat McCrory, who is expected to sign it.
The bill was passed by North Carolina's House of Representatives this month.
The bill would place requirements on clinics that family planning advocates say would make it hard for them to stay in business. Among the requirements is the presence of a doctor when an abortion is being performed.
The bill would also allow North Carolina's health department to make temporary new rules for the state's 31 abortion clinics as it sees fit.
It prohibits government-administered insurance plans, such as those under the Affordable Care Act, from paying for abortions—though it makes exceptions when a pregnancy endangers a woman's life.
