Republican governor candidate says abortions are for women who can’t ‘keep your skirt down’

Lt. Governor Mark Robinson has spoken out against abortions, saying they’re for women who aren’t “responsible enough to keep your skirt down”.

The North Carolina Lt. Governor, who is currently running for governor, famously made the comments that abortions are akin to “killing” foetuses, whilst shaming women who require or want the life-saving procedure. 

His words are now featured in a political advert by state Attorney General Josh Stein – who is pro-choice – in the governor’s race, to highlight his damaging views.

In Stein’s advert, titled Silence, Robinson says that he supports a total abortion ban – which would prevent people from having an abortion for any reason.

“For me, there is no compromise on abortion,” Robinson says in the clip. “It makes no difference why or how a child ended up in that womb.”

He continues: “Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. It is about killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”

“It’s not your body anymore,” Robinson chillingly says at the end of the ad, further exacerbating the claims that pro-lifers want to police and control women’s and people with uteruses’ bodies.

Robinson also previously made the disgusting remarks that school shootings are God’s punishment for abortions, according to LGBTQ Nation. Not only are such comments offensive to the parents of those tragically lost in gun violence incidents (with over 1300 teenagers and 270 children lost to gun violence in 2023 in the US alone, as per ABC News), but they also make no sense from a religious standpoint. 

According to JW.org’s page on what the Bible says about school shootings, in Psalm 72:14, a passage reads: “From oppression and from violence he will rescue them.”

There are many reasons why women, trans or nonbinary people who can become pregnant might opt for or be required to undergo an abortion. This includes financial reasons (almost half of women who had an abortion in 2014 were living below the poverty line, as per The New York Times), lack of partner or family support, and health reasons affecting themselves, or the foetus. 

In North Carolina, abortions are legal for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and up to 20 weeks in the case of rape or incest. 

The communications director for Robinson’s campaign, Mike Lonergan, said that Robinson supports a “heartbeat bill” allowing abortions only until the sixth week of pregnancy. For context, most people do not discover they are pregnant until after this time.

For abortion support in the US, visit Planned Parenthood here. For abortion support in the UK and Northern Ireland, visit the NHS website here. For abortion support in Ireland, which has been lawful since March 2020, visit HSE here.