North Dakota Passes Unconstitutional Ban On All Abortions

Posted on March 22, 2013 at 5:00 pm by JM Ashby

North Dakota Republicans widened the War on Women today by passing a ban on all abortions, among other things, by declaring that fertilized eggs are people too.

North Dakota lawmakers voted on Friday afternoon to pass a “personhood” abortion ban, which would endow fertilized eggs with all the rights of U.S. citizens and effectively outlaw abortion. The measure, which passed the Senate last month, passed the House by a 57-35 vote and will now head to Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s desk.

The personhood ban will have far-reaching consequences even beyond abortion care, since it will charge doctors who damage embryos with criminal negligence. Doctors in the state say it will also prevent them from performing in vitro fertilization, and some medical professionals have vowed to leave the state if it is signed into law.

As others have pointed out, this will also ban the Plan B “morning after” pill and other forms of birth control.

No word on whether or not the state lawmakers who voted for the bill put on a smile while casting their votes.

War on Women Fiction

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  • muselet

    On the (slightly) bright(er) side, there are actually some sane Rs in the state:

    A group of GOP state lawmakers in North Dakota will protest new abortion restrictions on Monday at a Stand Up for Women rally in Bismarck, N.D., because they believe their fellow Republicans have gone too far.

    “It’s to say, hey, this isn’t okay. We have stepped over the line,” said state Rep. Kathy Hawken (R-Fargo) in a phone interview with The Huffington Post. “One of the key tenets of the Republican Party is personal responsibility. I’m personally pro-life, but I vote pro-choice, because you can’t make that decision for anyone else. You just can’t.”

    Personhood bills are pure theater, obviously. All any of the fetus fetishists want is to get Roe v. Wade before the current Supreme Court. Nothing is ever settled for the Right. Nothing.

    And the story’s been updated, Ashby:

    Anti-choice lawmakers in North Dakota … were actually considering two different types of personhood legislation — one to immediately amend the state’s constitution to redefine life as beginning at conception, and one to put a personhood amendment on the ballot. The House voted down the first and passed the second.

    So it comes down to the voters of North Dakota, not its governor. I’m not entirely convinced that’s better.

    –alopecia

  • Brutlyhonest

    Since this would make IVF illegal, maybe some of the people “playing god” will start adopting instead?

  • delosgatos

    If they have the rights, do they have the responsibilities?

    If a mother dies in childbirth will the newborn be charged with (wo)manslaughter?

    If a developing fetus is intercepting nutrients and calcium to the detriment of the pregnant person, is that battery?