On the Wednesday, July 3, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, MSNBC contributor Joy Reid compared abortion restrictions to "Shariah law" as she blasted North Carolina state senate Republicans for the "sneak attack" of including the restrictions in a bill banning Islamic law in the state. Reid:
I think what probably happened here is that the legislators in North Carolina looked at what's happening in Texas and other states where women are fighting these laws, where they're fighting these bills. Where they're coming out and protesting, and where it's becoming national news, and they decided to make the world's most ironic sneak attack.
You know, I'm sure these legislators couldn't tell you what Sharia law is, but what they think it is, is exactly what they're doing in these bills, imposing a religious dictate on women.
After reading from the bill, host O'Donnell brought aboard Reid and North Carolina Democratic U.S. Senator Kay Hagan as guests to complain about the bill. Senator Hagan introduced the term "sneak attack" as she began:
Well, if this is a health care bill about women, I am glad any state legislator in Raleigh is not my doctor. When I look at what the leadership and the general assembly is doing, under a sneak attack they put forward, they forced a sweeping anti-women's health care bill that, with no public notice, no transparency, and that doesn't pass a public scrutiny test in North Carolina.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Wednesday, July 3, The Last Word with Lawerence O'Donnell on MSNBC:
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: Republicans in Texas, Ohio, and now North Carolina are trying to pass legislation that would shut down abortion clinics. Today, the Republican-led North Carolina Senate passed this bill -- the Family, Faith and Freedom Protection Act. Not one Democrat voted for the bill.
The bill reads, "No qualified health plan offered through an exchange and operating within this state shall include coverage for abortion services. The physician providing any drug or chemical for the purpose of inducing an abortion shall be physically present in the same room as the patient when the drug or chemical is administered. The Department of Health and Human Services rules shall ensure that standards for the clinics certified for the performance of abortions are similar to those for the licensure of ambulatory surgical centers."
Opponents say the bill would shut down all but one abortion clinic in the state. A senate committee added the abortion amendments to a bill banning Sharia law late last night, to limit the debate on these measures. This was the scene at the North Carolina legislative building after the vote. (CLIP OF NORTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE) The bill now heads to the desk of Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis, who has announced a run for U.S. Senate. If he wins the Republican nomination, his general election opponent will be Democratic Senator Kay Hagan, who will join me in a moment.
(...)
Senator Hagan, what would this bill mean to the women of North Carolina if it becomes law?
SENATOR KAY HAGAN (D-NC): Well, if this is a health care bill about women, I am glad any state legislator in Raleigh is not my doctor. When I look at what the leadership and the general assembly is doing, under a sneak attack they put forward, they forced a sweeping anti-women's health care bill that, with no public notice, no transparency, and that doesn't pass a public scrutiny test in North Carolina. Those are not the values that we hold.
This is certainly a distraction. What we've got to be focused on in North Carolina, everybody tells me the number one issue is jobs and the economy. And what does our general assembly do? You know, once again, right before a holiday weekend with no public notice, no transparency, this is the kind of legislation that they put forward.
They have been working on anti-middle class legislation, anti-women, and anti-voter rights. And it is wrong. It is not the values in North Carolina.
O'DONNELL: Joy Reid, do you get the sense that there's a kind of a cross border cooperation among the states that are taking these actions this week?
JOY REID, MSNBC ANALYST: Yeah, absolutely, Lawrence. When you look at what's happening in Texas and Ohio and now in North Carolina, I sort of see the hidden hand of a group on Americans United for Life. I was doing a little research before this segment, and, you know, while the National Right to Life Committee, the committee that has said that they would like to see Marco Rubio sponsor that legislation nationally.
They get a lot more ink. But Americans United for Life is basically a bill mill. They are a legislation-writing factory. They write model legislation that really sounds very similar to the bill in Texas, very similar to the provisions here, similar to the provisions in Ohio.
And I think what probably happened here is that the legislators in North Carolina looked at what's happening in Texas and other states where women are fighting these laws, where they're fighting these bills. Where they're coming out and protesting, and where it's becoming national news, and they decided to make the world's most ironic sneak attack. You know, I'm sure these legislators couldn't tell you what Sharia law is, but what they think it is, is exactly what they're doing in these bills, imposing a religious dictate on women.
