The following comes from a June 3 Reuters article by Marti Maguire:

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said on Wednesday he will sign a law requiring pregnant women to wait three days between consulting a doctor and having an abortion, among the longest waiting periods in the nation.

McCrory, a Republican, faced intense lobbying from pro-choice advocates who hoped he would veto the measure, citing his campaign promise not to sign any further restrictions on abortion.

But in a statement released late Wednesday, McCrory said that the final version of the bill met his approval. He noted that he had worked with legislators to ensure that initial contact made with a health care provider could be a phone call, so the law would not require separate office visits.

“Some very positive progress was made during the last several days to protect women’s health,” McCrory said. “Therefore, I will sign this bill.”

North Carolina’s bill triples the state’s current 24-hour waiting period. McCrory’s vow to sign it came after the state House of Representatives gave its final approval, agreeing to slightly modified form that passed the Senate on Monday. The house initially approved the bill in April. All three votes fell largely along party lines.

Critics noted that McCrory signed into law a previous measure tightening regulation of abortion clinics. In a statement urging McCrory to veto the waiting period bill, Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said he was being given “a second chance to make good on his promise not to interfere with women’s access to safe, legal, essential health care.”