Bill
HB 509
Codifies Roe/Casey standards to prohibit undue obstacles to pre-viability abortion, while broadening clinician immunity and updating emergency, coverage, and local plan rules.
Short title: Right to Reproductive Freedom Act (adds Article 1O to Chapter 90)
Status / Procedural posture
- Introduced: Nov 12, 2024. Passed 1st Reading (March 2025 in the available draft). Several companion and committee actions are recorded; the bill’s text provides that most sections are effective when the act becomes law (some repeals have specific delayed applicability).
Purpose
- To codify the essential holdings of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey into North Carolina statute and to remove or limit state-level barriers to abortion and related reproductive health care. The bill also clarifies provider immunity and consent/medical emergency rules and adjusts some state and local health plan coverage limitations.
Key provisions
1. Codifying Roe and Casey
- Adds Article 1O (G.S. 90‑21.160–90‑21.162).
- Prohibits the State from imposing an "undue burden" on a person’s ability to obtain an abortion prior to fetal viability. Defines "undue burden" as a burden that places a substantial obstacle in the path of a person seeking to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability.
- Allows the State to restrict abortions after fetal viability unless necessary to preserve the life or health of the person.
Provider immunity and scope
Medical-emergency and parental-consent rules
Definitions and statutory cleanup
State program, insurance, and local plan changes
Who would be affected
- Patients seeking abortion and reproductive health services in North Carolina (including minors, pregnant persons near viability, rural and low-income populations).
- Health care providers who deliver abortion care (physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives — who gain explicit statutory parity for immunity and certain functions).
- State agencies that regulate health programs and insurers, and local governments that administer employee health benefits.
- Insurers and public health plans (contract language and coverage obligations may change).
Timing / effective dates
- Most substantive sections state they are effective when the act becomes law.
- Repeal of G.S. 58‑51‑63 is tied to a 30‑day delayed effective date and applies to contracts entered/renewed on/after that date (per bill text).
- Other implementation details (e.g., changes to plan benefits, regulatory guidance) would follow enactment and administrative rulemaking or plan updates.
Potential impacts (practical)
- Removes statutory authority for many pre‑viability restrictions by imposing an "undue burden" standard in state law.
- Broadens the set of clinicians who are explicitly authorized/covered under limited immunity provisions.
- Alters the legal landscape for state and local health plan coverage of abortion and related services; may require updates to public employee plans and insurer contract terms.
- May prompt administrative rule changes and litigation to interpret the scope of "undue burden," viability thresholds, and interplay with other state and federal laws.
Note: This summary is based on the bill text as introduced and on available legislative action records. Specific implementation details, regulatory guidance, and any subsequent amendments can change the bill’s legal effects.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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