RALEIGH, N.C. — Democrat-turned-Republican Tricia Cotham, once a fervent supporter of abortion rights, voted along with every other Republican in the North Carolina state legislature Tuesday to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto and enact tighter restrictions on abortion in the state.
Cotham, a representative from Mecklenburg County, has largely avoided the media after her much-publicized party switch in April, which gave Republicans a veto-proof major majority in the state House. She issued a lengthy statement Tuesday night on her vote to override Cooper's veto of SB20.
She called out "absolutists" on either side of the abortion debate, criticizing those who "believe abortion is unacceptable under any circumstance" and those who "believe aborting a perfectly healthy child in the 40th week of pregnancy is morally acceptable."
"I — like most North Carolinians — think abortion is a complicated issue without absolute answers," Cotham said in her statement Tuesday after the override vote. "Abortion is an unpleasant subject for many women, and I know of no woman that considered having an abortion that did so flippantly or unseriously. Despite what some people on the fringes may claim, contemplating an abortion is a grave decision, not a choice I’ve ever known anyone to celebrate."'
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