In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, local papers’ coverage highlights both the stakes of the 2022 election and how the decision is a direct result of Republicans’ decades-long, unrelenting war on abortion rights. 

While abortion is still legal in North Carolina, Governor Cooper’s veto and Democratic candidates are the last line of defense as in-state Republicans work to enact their unpopular, anti-choice MAGA agenda of restricting reproductive rights. 

Here’s what local papers in North Carolina are saying: 

Charlotte Observer: Opinion: Save it, North Carolina Republicans. Banning abortion isn’t protecting lives

Millions of Americans have effectively been rendered second-class citizens — and Republicans in North Carolina are celebrating. 

…Republicans insist this is about something righteous — protecting life. It is not, and it never was. It is about controlling people and their bodies. Because one thing is clear: banning abortion does not make anyone safer, and it certainly does not make people freer.

…So, while Republicans gleefully bask in their “victory,” the rest of us will be mourning our loss. Because this decision is not a win. As a woman, I’ve long understood that the Republican politicians who claim to represent me don’t really care about me or my rights. I wish they would stop pretending that they do.

Charlotte Observer: ‘Loudly and clearly.’ How Supreme Court’s abortion ruling could affect NC Senate race

At a news conference Friday in Raleigh, Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley, the former N.C. Supreme Court chief justice, said the ruling has brought the country to a turning point, one that she hoped would energize Democratic voters.

…Bobbie Richardson, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, also framed the November election around abortion rights. “This decision raises the stakes in this year’s election in a major way,” Richardson said during Beasley’s press conference Friday. “It has never been more important to elect leaders who will protect abortion and a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions.”

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News & Observer: Letters to the Editor: Abortion ruling turns women like me into second-class citizens

We must stand up to Republicans and the tyranny of the minority. The only recourse we have left is to vote, protest and demand accountability. I fear for our future as a democracy, but I’m not without hope that together we are stronger than the arrogant fools trying to keep us down.

WRAL: Editorial: Now it’s voters turn on the status of abortion

Donald Trump promised he would, and did, appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices who “will be pro-life.” During the 2016 campaign Trump said reversal of Roe v. Wade would happen “automatically in my opinion” because he’d be nominating several justices. Friday that pledge came to fruition.  The three judges Trump appointed joined three others.

…It is no exaggeration to say that “Roe is on the ballot.” North Carolina voters will elect members of the state legislature, U.S. House of Representatives and a U.S. senator along with key judges on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

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