RALEIGH, N.C.—North Carolina lawmakers passed a bill on Wednesday that would make the state one of several with 72-hour waiting periods for an abortion, sending the bill to the Republican governor who plans to sign it.
Hours after the bill passed, Gov. Pat McCrory said he was pleased with progress made on the bill in recent days and planned to sign it. The House and Senate chambers in the GOP-controlled legislature approved the measure by margins above the threshold for overcoming a veto.
Bill supporters have said that increasing the state’s waiting period from the current 24 hours will give pregnant women more time to collect information about a difficult decision. The bill’s House sponsors also said they hope the measure would lead to fewer abortions.
