North Carolina Bill to Prosecute Women for Abortion as Murder Draws Criticism from Within Anti-Abortion Movement

A bill in the North Carolina legislature that would amend the state constitution to permit murder prosecutions of women who obtain abortions has drawn attention not from opponents of the anti-abortion movement, but from within it. The legislation reflects the position of self-described "abortion abolitionists," a faction that explicitly distances itself from the broader "pro-life" label and opposes partial restrictions as an unacceptable compromise.

The Washington Examiner, in an opinion piece, argued that the abolitionist position contains internal contradictions that undermine its stated logic. The piece noted that while abolitionists frame abortion as murder and conclude that women who obtain abortions must therefore be liable for that crime, the downstream implications of that framework are, by the Examiner's account, deeply problematic.

One objection raised concerns women who obtain abortions under coercion — including those in trafficking situations or abusive relationships. The Examiner reported that the abolitionist answer to this scenario is that "duress is no defense for abortion," a position the piece described as repugnant, arguing that responsibility for a coerced act lies with the coercer, not the coerced.