2023-06-23 16:57:19
It is a small, unremarkable establishment, located on a tree-lined square in the shape of a roundabout in Raleigh, capital of North Carolina. It has only one floor, has only a few parking spaces and almost disappears behind the vegetation. In English, this place is referred to as « clinic ». But the patients do not come for headaches or for a bad fever. There is only one thing here: voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG).
“Abortion is not the solution”
Every morning, a small group of protesters settles on the roundabout, opposite the entrance. On Saturday, a march is organized by a coalition of churches, which can bring together several hundred people. During the week, there are about fifteen to meet, the participants varying according to the day, according to the availability of each one.
Wendy, a retired school teacher, is among the most diligent. When a car pulls onto the roundabout and approaches the entrance to the clinic, she tries to make contact. Two employees of the clinic, in rainbow outfits, welcome the patients and intervene.
Equipped with a microphone, Wendy makes herself heard from the other side of the wooden fence. “Abortion is not the solution. It is an act with serious consequences, it is a trauma, for the mind and for the body.she says.
Later, when the patients leave, she will try her luck again. “In the morning, women come for an abortion by pill, she explains. We want to tell them, when they leave, that they can go back. They have 72 hours to take a hormone, progesterone. » This so-called method of« inversion » is controversial, judged “without scientific basis” by the American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
“We were hoping for a total ban”
Margaret, who has worked for a long time in the pharmaceutical industry, is present on the roundabout several mornings a week. With even more determination, a few days before the entry into force, on July 1, of a new law limiting abortion in North Carolina. Since the Supreme Court returned, a year ago, on June 24, 2022, to the legalization of abortion at the federal level dating from 1973, the States have full freedom to set their own legislation. Still, Margaret is a bit disappointed. “We were hoping for a total ban, or else after six weeks, like in Florida or South Carolina. »
But in Raleigh, the Republican Party, which enjoys a comfortable majority in each of the two assemblies of the State Congress, is divided on the subject. After long internal discussions, the elected officials agreed on a ban from twelve weeks of pregnancy, against twenty previously – this period corresponds to that which was in force in France until 2022, since increased to 14 weeks . But in North Carolina, 90% of abortions take place before the 12th week. “It’s sad, we thought we were going to end abortion”loose Margaret.
The map of caution
Sitting in his senator’s office in front of a photo of his uncle, who died at just over 20 on the beaches of Normandy, Eddie Settle shares this point of view. This outstate rancher, a long-time college football coach in his spare time, was elected last year. Baptiste, he does not hide his convictions: he too would have liked a more vigorous prohibition measure. But he understands the reality of political life. “Some of my fellow Republicans would have been sure to lose in the 2024 election if they had voted for six weeks”he concedes.
North Carolina is no exception. Nebraska, also a Republican, is also playing the card of caution. Because outside of the most conservative strongholds, last year’s victory, namely the reversal of the Supreme Court, has become somewhat politically embarrassing for Republicans.
“It is now clear that their point of view is not in the majority in public opinion, explains Nancy MacLean, historian specializing in the United States at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Look what happened in Kansas or Kentucky. »
In these very Republican states, where Donald Trump had won hands down in 2016 as in 2020, referendums organized since last summer have been lost by the pro-life camp. In North Carolina too, polls indicated that a majority of the population favored the status quo. Only a little over a third of those questioned wanted access to abortion to be limited.
A step back for Democrats
Laura Macklem, political director of the NC Values Coalition, a coalition that has ardently campaigned with elected officials to pass the law that will take effect on July 1, rejects the examples of Kansas and Kentucky. “These referendums are communication battles, and the camp opposite has more money than us, she assures. If pro-life candidates present their case well, they can get elected. That’s what we tell them. There is no reason not to stand up for our beliefs. We hoped until the end for a six-week ban. But this law is only a first step. »
In Raleigh, the leaders of the Republican Party welcome this new law ” reasonable “. For the Democratic Party, on the other hand, it is a real step backwards. “It’s not just the twelve weeks, highlights Senator Julie Mayfield. You have to look at the law in detail. From July 1, for example, it will be imperative to have a first appointment in person, then to wait 72 hours before returning to the clinic for an abortion. »
Until now, this first consultation could be done remotely. A new constraint, in time and money, which is important in a state where there are 14 clinics practicing abortion, unevenly distributed over a territory as large as Greece.
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The battle for abortion, in the States and in the courts
One after the Supreme Court decision, the political battle over abortion in the United States is now being waged at the state level.
More than twenty states, mainly in the South (Louisiana, Mississippi) and the West (Utah, Idaho, etc.), have adopted laws restricting abortion to varying degrees: from complete prohibition (North Dakota and Indiana) to a ban after twelve or fifteen weeks (North Carolina or Arizona).
In six of these states, justice has been seizede and blocked the ban voted by elected officials: Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina.
Twenty states protect the right to abortion, some having included it in their Constitution after the Supreme Court’s decision (California, Michigan, etc.).
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