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State Representative Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico) filed a bill in the North Carolina House that would make abortions illegal across the state with no exceptions for rape or incest. 

The bill, known as the Human Life Protection Act of 2025 (H804), is similar to one Kidwell filed two years ago that also did not exempt abortions from rape or incest. 

According to the bill, abortions would be banned from conception. The bill defines an unborn child as, “An individual living member of the homo sapiens species 32 from fertilization until birth, including the entire embryonic and fetal stages 33 of development.” 

The bill does allow exemptions for pregnant women who have life-threatening complications as a result of the pregnancy or the complications would cause significant impairment of “major bodily function” unless an abortion was performed or induced. Also exempted are situations where a licensed medical professional provides treatment that results in the “unintentional injury or death of an unborn child.”  

If this bill becomes law, an abortions would be classified as a Class B1 felony and a civil penalty of $100,000. Licensed medical professionals who perform, induce or attempt an abortion would have their license or any other certification revoked.  

As of Tuesday, April 8, the bill passed on the first reading and was referred to three committees – Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House. 

Kidwell did not respond to a request for comment sent on Monday, April 7. However, when he filed a similar bill in 2023 (H533), he stated that is Christian faith is a primary reason why rape and incest were not exceptions in the bill. 

In 2023 he said, “life begins the moment a child is conceived, and a child should not suffer the consequences of its parents’ actions.”