'I veto this bill': NC Gov. blocks 'disastrous' 12-week abortion ban advancing partisan hostility

North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a 12-week abortion ban Saturday, making way for a major face-off between state Democrats and GOPers in the coming days, The Washington Post reports.

This comes days after North Carolina State Rep. Tricia Cotham switched from Democrat to Republican, which Jezebel's Susan Rinkunas wrote, "gave North Carolina's Republican Party the supermajority they need to override Gov. Roy Cooper's (D) veto and jam the bill into law, which will further decimate abortion access throughout the South."

Per The Post, during a rally in Raleigh Saturday, the governor told the crowd the ban "will make abortion unavailable to many women, particularly those with lower incomes, those who live in rural areas and those who already have limited access to health care," adding, "Therefore, I veto this bill."

READ MORE: 'When you let right-wing politicians into the exam room': NC GOP set to pass 12-week abortion ban

Cooper emphasized during a CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer last week, "a number of" the GOPers "promised their constituents that they would protect women's reproductive rights. We want to hold them to these promises."

Furthermore, he reiterated that point earlier this week on CBS' Face the Nation, saying, "What we're going to do is call them out. There are four Republicans, four Republicans, who said they would protect women’s reproductive freedom during the campaign. All we need is one of them. We can block this disastrous legislation and then we can wait for the next battle.

The Postreports:

The veto faces a steep battle: Republicans hold vetoproof supermajorities in both chambers in the North Carolina legislature and could override his veto to enact the abortion ban. However, Cooper and the state's abortion rights supporters hope to sway a Republican lawmaker in either chamber to allow the state’s current abortion law — which allows most people to get abortions for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy — to stand.

According to The Post, a recent PRRI survey shows "only 33 percent of North Carolinians favored or strongly favored the overturn of Roe v. Wade last year, which supports U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross' (D-NC) statement describing the bill as "extreme and out of touch with the needs of women and the will of the people."

READ MORE: 'Dressed this up': North Carolina Gov. warns of danger over 12-week abortion ban

The Washington Post's full report is available at this link (subscription required).