NC's Mark Robinson falsely claims Democratic opponent supports abortion 'on demand' until birth

North Carolina’s two leading gubernatorial primary candidates are facing off over abortion rights.

After Democratic primary frontrunner Attorney General Josh Stein appeared on MSNBC and characterized his leading Republican opponent as holding extreme views on abortion, Republican frontrunner Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson shot back.

"On abortion, there's only one extremist in this race: Josh Stein," Robinson’s campaign posted on X, formerly Twitter. Stein, the post said, "supports taxpayer-funded abortion on demand (with) no restrictions up until birth."

Abortion access is expected to be a top election issue for North Carolinians in 2024. Republican state lawmakers this year restricted the deadline for most abortions from the 20th week of pregnancy to the 12th week, while allowing for some exceptions.

Robinson has repeatedly said he’d support even tighter restrictions. 

Robinson has likened abortion to murder and told WRAL in 2022 that if he became North Carolina’s top officeholder, he would support measures that outlaw abortion in all cases. He said he wants to make North Carolina the "most pro-life state in the Union" and impose "dire consequences" on doctors who perform the medical procedure. "I don’t think abortion should ever happen," he said. Robinson also said he likely wouldn’t obstruct a bill that allowed for abortion in cases that threatened a woman’s life or cases of rape or incest.

When Robinson announced his gubernatorial campaign in April, he called for what is known as a "heartbeat bill," which typically bans abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy. Robinson’s campaign spokesperson, Mike Lonergan, told WRAL-TV in November that the lieutenant governor would support a heartbeat bill and exemptions "for extreme situations like rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger."

But we didn’t find any evidence to support Robinson’s claim about Stein.

Asked for evidence to back up the claim, Robinson’s campaign directed us to a Planned Parenthood statement endorsing Stein in 2020 and a news story about an abortion rights lobbying group’s November endorsement. But it provided nothing to show that Stein supports abortion up to birth without any restrictions. Stein’s campaign says the statement misrepresents his position. 

Here’s what we found.

Stein campaign spokesperson Kate Frauenfelder said Stein "supports the Roe v. Wade framework that protects women’s reproductive freedoms and restricts abortion later in pregnancy, unless a woman’s life or health is at risk."

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Roe v. Wade, the now-overturned 1973 Supreme Court decision that said abortion access was federally protected, allowed for abortion to be legal to the point of fetal viability, meaning when an infant can survive outside the womb. Physicians say that usually happens between the 22nd and 24th week of pregnancy.

Only about 1% of abortions take place after 21 weeks, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.

Those Roe v. Wade protections were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case. The Dobbs ruling allowed states to govern the procedure more tightly if they wished.  

Stein has made headlines for his record on abortion since then.

After the Dobbs decision in 2022, Stein declined to help lawmakers reinstate a 20-week ban of abortion that had been on the state’s books but had gone unenforced.

"The Department of Justice will not take action that would restrict women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions," Stein said in a July news release.

In April, his office challenged a federal judge’s decision to overturn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. Then in June, Stein refused to defend North Carolina’s new abortion law in court. Plaintiffs alleged that parts of it are unconstitutional, and Stein said he agreed. 

When PolitiFact North Carolina reached out to Robinson’s campaign,  Lonergan, Robinson’s spokesperson, said Stein has "never voiced support for reasonable restrictions of any kind that I am aware of." 

"He’s touted endorsements from the most radical pro-abortion extremist groups around like Planned Parenthood Action and NARAL/Reproductive Freedom for All," Lonergan said, referring to advocacy groups, including the former National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, which have previously endorsed Stein.

For years, Republicans have falsely conflated Democrats’ support for Roe-era abortion protections with wanting unlimited access to the procedure until birth. Robinson’s claim is no different.

Robinson said Stein "supports taxpayer-funded abortion on demand (with) no restrictions up until birth." 

Stein’s campaign says he believes abortion should be allowed until birth only in cases when a woman’s life or health are at risk. Robinson’s campaign didn’t provide evidence to support the claim that Stein wants abortion to be legal for any reason until birth. 

Robinson’s claim contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. Robinson’s claim is inaccurate. We rate it False.