A federal appeals court just ruled a North Carolina abortion law unconstitutional

A federal appeals court just ruled a North Carolina abortion law unconstitutional
(Image credit: iStock)

A North Carolina law requiring abortion providers to first give a woman an ultrasound and describe the images in detail is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. This circuit court ruling upholds a lower-court decision from January, The Huffington Post reports.

The Woman's Right to Know Act was passed by a Republican-controlled legislature in 2011 over the veto of a Democratic governor. The doctor was also required to ask patients if they wanted to listen to fetal heartbeats. Those who didn't comply faced losing their medical licenses.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.