Advocacy Project-Keep your

promise to the women of

North Carolina

Ashleigh Bell

About
The petition I choose to sign is about making sure that Pat McCrory keeps his
promise in not changing abortion laws or making new anti abortion laws.
North Carolina is sneakily attaching anti-abortion measures to bills that are completely unrelated. First the
North Carolina Senate passed an extreme anti-choice bill that could shut down all but one abortion clinic in
the state and would severely limit health care options for North Carolina women. Then the House tacked on
abortion restrictions to a motorcycle safety bill (check out #MotorcycleVagina, currently trending on
Twitter!). We urgently need your help to stop these bills from becoming lawand we have a real chance to
win this together.

The letter was sent to Jane Smith Senator of Robeson County

Letter
Date 2/19/16
The Honorable Senator Jane W. Smith
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 520
United States House of Representatives/United State Senate
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

Dear Representative/Senator Jane W. Smith:

As an up and coming advocate of social work in North Carolina, I urge you to make sure Pat McCrory keeps his promise on not supporting any new restrictions on access to
abortion. Over the past few years, the house of representatives has been trying to hide their anti-abortion choice bills by attaching the bill restrictions onto other bills in order to trick
others. With this being said, why should abortion stay legal and clinics stay open and possibly expand? Looking at other countries who do not have legal abortion, we understand that
the death rate of women trying to end their pregnancy is at a very dangerous high. These women take severe measures to end their pregnancy, such as homemade cures and unclean
underground clinics. These are just a few of the negatives that come along with anti-abortion laws.
Understanding the positives of abortions staying legal:
Fewer than 0.5% of women obtaining abortions experience a complication, and the risk of death associated with abortion is about one-tenth that associated with childbirth.
A 2013 peer-reviewed study comparing the mental health of women who received abortions to women denied abortions found that women who were denied abortions "felt more
regret and anger" and "less relief and happiness" than women who had abortions. The same study also found that 95% of women who received abortions "felt it was the right
decision" a week after the procedure.
The option of abortions should be a right to all women across State and the Country. If harder restrictions were to be placed on abortions, it could lead to even bigger
issues. Please be a voice for me and others, when advocating to keep abortion laws the same. Thank you for your consideration and please feel free to contact me if you would
like to discuss this issue further.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth A. Bell

Response
Mrs. Jane Smith responded to my email by saying:
Thank you for your comments. I agree with you and voted against the bills that added more restrictions this session,
but unfortunately the super majority does not agree and we get outvoted.
Senator Jane W. Smith
520 Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: 919-733-5651
Email: Jane.Smiith@ncleg.net