North Carolina Republicans propose stricter abortion laws

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A new bill filed in the North Carolina General Assembly seeks to strengthen anti-abortion laws in the state.

House Bill 28 proposes reducing the number of weeks where it is legal to have an abortion from 20 down to 13.

The bill does include a provision which would allow for abortions after 13 weeks in the event of a medical emergency, but the bill outlines the extra work a physician must do to prove to the health department that it really was a medically necessary procedure.

The bill comes as Republicans attempt to galvanize anti-abortion supporters.

President Donald Trump called for a federal ban on late-term abortions during his State of the Union. Meanwhile, Republican legislators in Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee are pushing ahead with plans to stop abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

Note: Video in this article is from Jan. 12 when protests erupted in Raleigh ahead of the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.