Earlier this month voters in two U.S. States, Colorado and North Dakota, considered new laws that would bolster the legal rights of a fetus before birth. Neither of these ballot initiatives passed, but they’re part of a “personhood movement” that’s been gaining notoriety among pro-life advocates since about 2008. Reading about this movement in the press has made me wonder about the slippery, contentious, and profound meaning of “personhood.”
Tag: North Dakota
Personhood Movement Loses Both State Initiatives
The anti-abortion personhood movement failed key tests Tuesday in North Dakota and Colorado, with voters rejecting amendments to grant the unborn constitutional rights.
Doctors: N.D. Must Stop In Vitro Fertilization if Measure 1 Passes
Fargo North Dakota’s only clinic offering in vitro fertilization will have to stop the infertility treatment if voters approve an amendment next month.
Scarlet Letters: Getting the History of Abortion and Contraception Right
If recent legislation passed in Arkansas and North Dakota is allowed to stand, it will be harder for women to get an abortion in those states than it was in New England in 1650.
North Dakota Earns C in Group’s Ranking of Fertility Friendliness
When Suzy Alberts and her husband, Kristopher, decided to pursue fertility treatments, they discovered their insurance wouldn’t cover the costs.This lack of insurance mandate, as well as recent proposed legislation, counted against North Dakota on a “fertility friendliness” scorecard recently issued by Resolve, a national association that promotes reproductive health and equal access to family-building options for men and women experiencing infertility.
ND lawmakers define life as starting at conception
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota didn’t set out to become the abortion debate’s new epicenter.
It happened by accident, after a legislative caucus that once vetted abortion bills languished, leaving lawmakers to propose a flurry of measures — some cribbed from Wikipedia — without roadblocks.
Long dismissed as cold and inconsequential, North Dakota is now trying to enact the toughest abortion restrictions in the nation. The newly oil-rich red state may soon find itself in a costly battle over legislation foes describe as blatantly unconstitutional.
“It had to happen some place,” said Sen. John Andrist, a Crosby Republican who has served in the Legislature for more than two decades.
“I’m from the group who hates voting on abortion issues and who don’t like to play God,” said Andrist, who describes himself as “moderately pro-life” and has voted for some but not all of the restrictions North Dakota has taken up this year. “But we have some strong-willed people in this state who do.”
Lawmakers on Friday took a step toward outlawing abortion altogether in the state by passing a so-called personhood resolution that says a fertilized egg has the same right to life as a person. The House’s approval sends the matter to voters, who will decide whether to add the wording to the state’s constitution in November 2014. Read full article.
Infertility doctors and couples are fuming over a proposed bill in North Dakota
Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) — A controversial piece of a abortion bill before the North Dakota Senate, has some couples and their infertility doctors fuming.
Senate Bill 2302 would limit the number of embryos a physician could transfer, and it would prevent a woman diagnosed with cancer, from storing embryos during chemotherapy.
Kathy Burgau, back in 1998, told the story of her cancer battle, hoping to have a family after chemotherapy, she had embryos frozen, so she could have children after cancer treatment. That was done here in Fargo, but this bill before the North Dakota senate tomorrow, does not allow us to freeze any embryos. It would make that illegal.
Dr. Stephanie Dahl, Reproductive Medicine Specialist: “If the bill passes, couples who want to freeze embryos before chemo, would have to go out of state. It is available now.”
And not just cancer patients. The proposed bill would limit the number of fertilized eggs an invitro-fertilization specialist could transfer into a patient during that cycle to two eggs. It could financially and emotionally cripple couples trying to conceive by way of IVF. Read full article.