Jason Yoder: Just like Mississippi

Regarding the May 28 news article “Abortion bill closer to vote by Senate”: As a lawyer licensed in North Carolina, I want to voice my strong opposition to revised House Bill 465.

The provision restricting abortions to board-certified OB/GYNs is particularly misguided and was dropped by the House for a good reason. A 2011 study of OB/GYNs found that only 14 percent of OB/GYNs performed abortions.

Accordingly, this provision makes abortion more dangerous by reducing the number of qualified abortion providers in North Carolina. The only state to enact such a provision is Mississippi, the state Forbes business magazine recently ranked last for business and careers, the National Women’s Law Center ranked last for women’s health and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ranked one of the worst states for quality of life.

I do not believe that North Carolinians aspire to become the next Mississippi. This bill should be rejected.

This story was originally published May 30, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Jason Yoder: Just like Mississippi."