Governor Roy Cooper says he plans to veto on Saturday Senate Bill 20, the measure that would ban abortion after 12 weeks.
Even though Republican lawmakers hold a supermajority, Copper said all he needs is one Republican member to defect and vote to sustain his veto.
“And when all we need is one Republican to go to the leadership and say 'we don't need to do this' ... now, I think that that is something that I hope that the people of Mecklenburg and surrounding counties will talk to their legislators," he said, "I hope legislators will listen to this.”
The two Mecklenburg Republican lawmakers who could help preserve Cooper’s veto are Tricia Cotham and John Bradford, both of whom Cooper says campaigned on keeping the state's abortion rights unchanged.
“We're here to talk about the legislation that was rammed through in a very short period of time in the state legislature with no public input, no amendments allowed that significantly restricts women's access to reproductive freedom.”