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Jimmy Williams
In a newly surfaced audio recording, North Carolina’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson is heard outlining his desire to restrict abortion access to “zero” weeks, challenging the state’s current 12-week abortion law.
The recording, dated September 3, was made public by a Democratic group aiming to hold Robinson accountable as he campaigns for governor. The release comes amid a heated gubernatorial race between Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein.
The recording captures Robinson speaking at a campaign event in Troy, North Carolina, where he expressed his strong pro-life views and stated his ultimate goal of eliminating abortion entirely. Responding to a woman’s inquiry about his stance on abortion, Robinson replied, “That 12 weeks, exceptions for rape and incest… I’m not going to say it’s reasonable. But my faith allows me to live with that because that’s where the consensus is. Do I want to continue to lower it? You better know it. I would love to get down to six weeks. And I’d like to get down to zero.”
Robinson’s comments mark a significant departure from his public support for North Carolina’s 12-week ban on abortion, which includes exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother. While Robinson has acknowledged his personal experiences with abortion—his wife had one 30 years ago—he has maintained that his faith and experience have shaped his strong pro-life stance. However, the audio indicates his ambitions extend far beyond the current law, suggesting he aims to further restrict abortion if elected governor.
“We can’t do it all at once,” Robinson continued in the recording. “The Democrats started off with Roe v. Wade, then moved to ‘safe, legal, and rare.’ Then they got to where? Nine months in the womb. They did that over 50 years… And we can do it.”
The group that released the audio, Mark Robinson War Room, is a project of the North Carolina Democratic Leadership Committee and has been focused on highlighting Robinson’s controversial positions. Robinson is running against Attorney General Josh Stein, an outspoken advocate for abortion rights. Stein has vowed to defend access to abortion and has made reproductive rights a central issue in his campaign.
In response to the audio, Robinson’s communications director, Mike Lonergan, defended the lieutenant governor’s stance, framing his pro-life position as a deeply personal and faith-driven conviction. “Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is pro-life because of the painful and difficult experience he and his wife had, and his faith,” Lonergan said in a statement. “By supporting taxpayer-funded, late-term abortion on demand, Kamala Harris and Josh Stein are extreme and out of step with North Carolina voters.”
Lonergan emphasized that Robinson would support measures to promote adoption and bolster childcare services, adding, “The legislature has already spoken on this issue. As governor, Mark Robinson will work to make North Carolina a destination for life by building a culture that does more to support women and families, including bolstering adoption, as well as foster and childcare.”
Robinson’s comments about reducing abortion restrictions come as abortion remains a polarizing issue across the United States, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The decision allowed individual states to implement their own abortion laws, triggering a wave of new restrictions in conservative states and prompting Democrats to push for protections in states like North Carolina, where access to abortion remains a key issue.
Robinson’s recent comments align with his earlier statements on abortion, including remarks made at a campaign event in February, where he expressed a desire to reduce the state’s abortion limit to six weeks. Yet, the newly released audio amplifies his commitment to pushing the restrictions further and moving toward a complete ban on abortion in the state.
Attorney General Josh Stein has consistently framed the 2024 gubernatorial race as a referendum on reproductive rights. “The right to choose is fundamental,” Stein said earlier this year. “As governor, I will fight to protect that right for every North Carolinian.”
Robinson, while acknowledging that his faith heavily influences his pro-life position, told the audience in the recording that as an elected official, he is bound to work with consensus. He cautioned that imposing religious beliefs on governance could turn the country into a theocracy, drawing a comparison to Iran. “We don’t live in a theocracy,” Robinson said. “If we have politicians who start running the country like they run their church, then we end up like Iran. That’s not how this country was formed.”
As the North Carolina governor’s race unfolds, Robinson’s hardline stance on abortion could energize conservative voters while simultaneously galvanizing abortion rights advocates, further polarizing the electorate in what is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched gubernatorial races of 2024.
