North Carolina GOP Advances Bill To Ban Down Syndrome Abortions

North Carolina Republican lawmakers have advanced a bill to make it illegal for physicians to perform abortions because of the fetus’ race or a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. Bill sponsors say procedures performed based on race or Down syndrome amount to “discriminatory eugenic abortion.” Abortion rights group oppose the measure and say it will interfere with a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy. Under the bill, a physician would be subject to monetary damages if he or she still knowingly performed the procedure. A handful of states have passed similar laws regarding Down syndrome diagnoses and have been caught up in legal battles after their passage.