Advancing American Freedom led an amicus brief with 57 other amici in Bryant v. Moore, arguing that states have both the responsibility and the authority to protect the unborn where the federal government fails to do so. North Carolina attempted to do exactly that, but the district court in this case found that federal law, which regulates chemical abortion drugs, preempts state efforts to impose stricter protections for the health of women and the unborn. As we said in our brief to the Fourth Circuit, “Appellants North Carolina House Speaker Timothy K. Moore and North Carolina Senate President pro tempore Philip E. Berger are using their official powers to defend North Carolina’s state law. Unhappily for our system of adversarial representation in court, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has willfully abdicated that responsibility in a shocking failure to carry out his duties . . . When state officials like the Attorney General will not do their job, it is left to others like Advancing American Freedom and amici help fill in the gap.”
“Where the federal government fails to protect the fundamental rights of those within its jurisdiction, states have both the authority and responsibility to do so,” said AAF General Counsel Marc Wheat. “If Congress intends to preempt state law on an issue as controversial and significant as abortion, it must do so clearly so that the courts can assess the legitimacy of that delegation of power. AAF supports North Carolina’s effort to protect the right to life of the most vulnerable people in the state; the unborn.”
Read the full brief here.
