Thursday, Governor Cooper vowed to veto senate bill 20 which would ban abortion after 12 weeks.
Once Cooper follows through on his promise he will need at least one republican in either the house or the senate to break ranks to avoid a veto override.
As the state awaits a potential showdown women are speaking out.
"I think men should not have the right to make a decision for women's bodies. They can represent the opinions of men and women collectively, but not individually because they would never have to go through that," Raleigh resident Zarreah Bullock said.
Wilson resident Jasmyne Russell said she supports the governor's promise.
"I would hope that he would not sign it into law. Because I feel like it's a woman's choice. I feel like a woman. Should be able to choose whether to have a baby or not. No man should be able to choose what a woman does with her body. Period," Russell said.
In a one-on-one sit down with ABC11 Gov. Cooper called on those opposed to the bill to act now.
"I hope that constituents will talk to their legislators as the vote for veto overrides comes. But others are calling on lawmakers to go even further," said Cooper.
Lydia Taylor is an anti-abortion advocate who supports the legislation, but she is worried it could make the movement's supporters complacent.
"I am worried that this will just encourage them to just stop here and check off the box that they did their part in doing to stop some abortion. But I also think this is a great step in stopping some abortion," Taylor said.
She said despite the governor's efforts to garner support for a veto the anti-abortion movement will turn out just as strong.
"The response of the pro-life movement has just been to try even harder to pass legislation, to just spread the truth, to change minds on the issue of abortion. And we've seen it be really successful," Taylor said.