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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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A bill making its way through the North Carolina Legislature states that it would be permissible for a person to use deadly force on a woman they believe is seeking an abortion, something Democrats have branded as "wildly extreme."
The legislation, backed only by Republican state Representative Keith Kidwell, would classify abortion as first-degree murder and open the right of another person to defend the life of the unborn baby as they see fit.
The bill, which would grant personhood to fertilized eggs, could be on the ballot for voters in November's midterms. If approved by voters, it would go into effect on January 1, 2027.
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"While out-of-touch Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly are busy filing extremist anti-abortion bills, we North Carolinians are struggling to pay for our healthcare costs, put food on the table, and fill up our gas tanks," a spokesperson for Pro-Choice North Carolina told Newsweek Friday.
"If the political party in charge at the NCGA actually cared about families, they'd work to reduce the out-of-pocket costs we pay for healthcare, they would pass a statewide living wage so our families and neighbors could thrive, they would fully fund our public schools, and they would do everything possible to reduce North Carolina's maternal mortality rate, especially for Black women. Instead, they continue playing legislative games to try and rile up their base."
Newsweek reached out to Kidwell for comment via his contact form on Thursday afternoon.
What Does the Bill Say?
The legislation, known as House Bill 1232, is aimed at amending the state's constitution to declare that "a distinct and separate human life begins at the moment of fertilization."
It goes on to say that this is "a matter of indisputable scientific fact," despite this being one of the core debates around which the abortion issue has circled for decades. Under this premise, the bill argues that abortion at any time would be seen as first-degree murder.
"Any person has the right to defend his or her own life or the life of another person, even by the use of deadly force if necessary, from willful destruction by another person," the bill reads. "The State has an interest and a duty to defend innocent persons from willful destruction of their lives and to punish those who take the lives of persons, born or unborn, who have not committed any crime punishable by death."
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HB 1232 Sees Pushback
Pro-choice advocates and Democrats have pushed back on the bill, with some raising concerns that women on birth control could also be included in its scope.
Kimya Forouzan, principal state policy advisor at the Guttmacher Institute which advocates for sexual health and reproductive rights, told Newsweek in a statement that the organization had concerns about the potential impact.
“North Carolina HB1232 is an especially alarming bill built on dangerous personhood language that we continue to see pop up in state legislative sessions,” she said. “But we cannot let this extreme bill, which is unlikely to pass, divert attention from the radical and harmful anti-abortion agenda already enacted in North Carolina—including the state’s 12-week ban—and across the country.”
With the policy potentially becoming a down-ballot issue in November, the Democrats said they were ready to challenge Republicans on the issue.
"Classifying patients seeking abortion as murderers and legalizing deadly force against providers, family, and friends who assist with abortion care is wildly extreme and out of step with voters," Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams said in a statement shared with Newsweek.
"As the Republican Party adopts these fringe policies that encourage violence and make it harder for families to access the care they need, voters are ready to hold Republicans accountable in November."
Who Is Backing the Bill?
The bill's other sponsor, Representative Ben Moss, pulled his support Tuesday, saying in a statement shared on X that the purpose of the legislation was "to affirm the value and dignity of unborn life" and that there had been "significant misunderstandings" about the bill's text.
"I remain firmly pro-life and strongly believe in protecting innocent human life," Moss wrote. "That conviction has not changed. However, I also believe legislation must be written with absolute clarity so that its intent cannot be misunderstood or broadly misinterpreted in ways that create fear and confusion."
Moss said the bill needed further work and therefore pulled his support, leaving just Kidwell as a sponsor.
What Is North Carolina's Abortion Law Now?
In June 2023, the State Assembly passed legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks. Several restrictions before that cutoff were also introduced following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
Patients have to make two trips—one to have a consultation and the other at least 72 hours later for the abortion itself.
Parental consent is needed for minors, while the state requires abortions to be reported, and state Medicaid funding does not cover abortion care.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, around 47,900 abortions were performed in North Carolina in 2025.
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