Item 1 of 2 North Carolina physicians hold signs to protest as North Carolina Republican lawmakers hold a vote to override Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that would ban most abortions in the state after 12 weeks, in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. May 16, 2023.
The Republican leaders of North Carolina's legislature intervened in the case to defend the restrictions after Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, said he would not do so. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Plaintiff Amy Bryant, the doctor who brought the lawsuit challenging the North Carolina law, said in a statement that she was "pleased" that the court found the state cannot "second-guess or interfere with the FDA's expert judgment."