North Dakota bans abortion.

[AtroposHeart]

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.

The measure is so extreme that some pro-life Republicans in the state have come out against it, planning to join a pro-choice rally in the state capital on Monday to oppose the far-right abortion restriction. “We have stepped over the line,†Republican state Rep. Kathy Hawken (R-Fargo) said of the recent push to pass personhood. “North Dakota hasn’t even passed a primary seatbelt law, but we have the most invasive attack on women’s health anywhere.â€

Personhood advocates have pushed their agenda in states throughout the country over the past several years, but their measures have so far been unable to advance. North Dakota is the first state to pass a personhood abortion ban.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03 ... ersonhood/

Thank you, North Dakota for giving a boom to the coat hanger buisness in such harsh economic times.

[valsa]

Is it too much to hope that Justices Thomas, Scalia, and Alito carpool themselves off a cliff before this gets to the Supreme Court?

[Peas n carrots]

This will get struck down.

I think the average American has been asleep at the wheel for too long. America is a much more moderate country than our lawmakers realize...it's the shill fundies/conservatives who are few but loud. The silent majority really needs to stand up, instead of patting themselves on the back that they re-elected a black president.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

So they can claim fetuses on state income taxes now?

[Childless]

The first time a doctor refuses to treat a pregnant woman because it might harm the fetus and the woman ends up dead or severely incapacitated, the law will be repealed (if it even lasts that long).

[Anxious Girl]

Apparantly, owning a gun and denying the poor is less important than protecting teh "unborn babies". Link: ontd-political.livejournal.com/10508389.html. Even republicans are pissed.

[m0drnmoonlight]

What the hell? Wow, North Dakota is on a tailspin back to the 1950s. I also read that birth control and sex ed are being outlawed. So keeping 'em ignorant and taking away birth control is so going to reduce the number of pregnancies, right? Idiots.

When Republicans are joining Democrats and are telling you that you're being ridiculous, then you know you've fucked up bad.

So what if a woman miscarries? Can she be arrested for infanticide? And I agree; as soon as a woman with pregnancy complications is denied an abortion and both she and the fetus die, then North Dakota will have blood on its hands and it will be repealed. Hopefully, it gets struck down before that.

Edited for riffle

[lagenialester]

This will get struck down.

I think the average American has been asleep at the wheel for too long. America is a much more moderate country than our lawmakers realize...it's the shill fundies/conservatives who are few but loud. The silent majority really needs to stand up, instead of patting themselves on the back that they re-elected a black president.

As someone who studied constitutional law, I totally agree with this. While the states do have the right to legislate abortion bans, they DEFINITELY do not have the right to give fertilized eggs full rights of US citizens. There are just too many holes in the "personhood" argument for this to actually be constitutional.

[caito]

"which would endow fertilized eggs with all the rights of U.S. citizens"

Oh FFS

[m0drnmoonlight]

Can pregnant women vote twice in elections since, you know, the fertilized egg she's carrying is a U.S. citizen and therefore has the right to vote?

[PennySycamore]

My understanding is that the measure is actually a constitutional amendment and will go to the citizens of the state for ratification in 2014. That gives us more time to fight back and fight back we must.

[MandyLaLa]

So if a woman engages in "risky" behavior (drugs, alcohol) and has a miscarriage would that be murder?

[sparkles]

I bet they try to find a way to make it illegal for a woman to travel out-of-state for an abortion as well.

[doggie]

"which would endow fertilized eggs with all the rights of U.S. citizens"

Oh FFS

Wonder if they will need a ssn and have to pay taxes?

[doggie]

So if a woman engages in "risky" behavior (drugs, alcohol) and has a miscarriage would that be murder?

but not if they are not wearing a seat belt.

[jean70]

I bet they try to find a way to make it illegal for a woman to travel out-of-state for an abortion as well.

Somebody wrote a letter to the editor satirizing that scenario:

inforum.com/event/article/id/393835/group/Opinion/

[crazyforkate]

If a fetus has mobility rights, can it force the pregnant woman to move somewhere she doesn't like? It's a small sacrifice for your babby!

[m0drnmoonlight]

So if a woman engages in "risky" behavior (drugs, alcohol) and has a miscarriage would that be murder?

That's what I want to know! Or what if the woman falls ill and miscarries; will police be waiting at the hospital to arrest her for manslaughter?

If women want to end a pregnancy and can't abort, does this mean they'll be flinging themselves down the stairs before they go for the coat hangers? Way to go, North Dakota.

[snackle]

I bet they try to find a way to make it illegal for a woman to travel out-of-state for an abortion as well.

Yay, back to pre-Roe we go, where women at a border can be stopped and questioned because they have pads in their luggage. Obvious proof you went to obtain an abortion.

Obviously, this will not stand, even with our current supreme court. But, in the meantime, before it's fought, services will be stopped, and the state will spend tons of taxpayer money defending it.

I used to volunteer at a clinic in Iowa during the brief ban on abortion in South Dakota. The number of young women who would arrive at 6am in bug splattered cars after clearly driving all night broke my heart.

[snackle]

That's what I want to know! Or what if the woman falls ill and miscarries; will police be waiting at the hospital to arrest her for manslaughter?

If women want to end a pregnancy and can't abort, does this mean they'll be flinging themselves down the stairs before they go for the coat hangers? Way to go, North Dakota.

Actually, all of these scenarios are in the realm of possibility. In some countries where abortion was entirely illegal women had to go through monthly period checks (so I've read but don't remember enough details to provide a source). This would open women to criminal charges for doing "bad" things during pregnancies that end in miscarriage. Actually, just such a thing has been proposed by legislators in other states, that women should be investigated after any miscarriage to make sure it wasn't intended.

It also likely would redefine hundreds of laws in the state. A person, defined as beginning at conception, has rights to legal representation, gun ownership, hundreds of other references.... it's so ridiculous, yet it would basically have to all be addressed through the courts, taking time and money. There is speculation that these personhood amendments would end access to birth control pills, IUDs, and IVF, too.

My only hope is that voters don't pass it. If such a thing failed in Mississippi, there's hope for ND, too. Colorado has defeated such amendments twice, by 3:1.

[Dandruff]

If doctors who damage embryos can be charged with criminal negligence would they be giving any woman of child-bearing age a pregnancy test prior to treatment? If so, who pays? What if the delay for a pregnancy test results in harm to the woman? Could a woman legally be denied necessary treatment if it would or might harm her embryo, even if this could result in her death (and therefore the 'death' of the embryo)?

[warpedfactor9]

How about these morons who dreamed this crap up have to wade through a couple dozen pitch black hallways filled with legos and little green army men before they can send that bill through.

[Bethella]

If doctors who damage embryos can be charged with criminal negligence would they be giving any woman of child-bearing age a pregnancy test prior to treatment? If so, who pays? What if the delay for a pregnancy test results in harm to the woman? Could a woman legally be denied necessary treatment if it would or might harm her embryo, even if this could result in her death (and therefore the 'death' of the embryo)?

They generally do that anyway. Two years ago I went in for a procedure and had to fight tooth and nail not to have a pregnancy test done (1- I wasn't sexually active so pregnancy wasn't even possible and 2- I didn't have insurance and was paying out of pocket) In the end they did the procedure without the test but I had to sign a letter saying that I wouldn't sue them if I suffered a miscarriage.

This happened in the Dominican Republic last year. A pregnant teen was denied chemotherapy because of fears that the chemo would terminate her pregnancy, she eventually received treatment but it was too late and she died. http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/18/world/ame ... pt=hp_bn12

[AnywhereButHere]

Every time I read something like this, I feel a little sick to my stomach. Each proposed law is another attempt to shove women back, take away the basic rights we should have over our own bodies and minds, and what's worse is that there are women who support these attempts!

There is hope in that even Republicans are not supportive of this law, but the fact that more and more states are trying this is truly frightening.

[Anxious Girl]

What if the fetus inside a woman isn't human? Does it deserve rights?