North Carolina governor rolls out further abortion protections ahead of next Trump term

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced measures to protect reproductive health care providers and patients via a new executive order. The order announced Thursday mandates that state Cabinet agencies will not cooperate with prosecuting and penalizing physicians who provide lawful reproductive health services. It also requests state agencies to review and revise how they store patients' reproductive health data to ensure their privacy. The announcement joins a growing movement by Democratic governors to protect abortion access before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week. Trump’s stance on abortion was largely inconsistent on the campaign trail and it’s unclear what action he will take.