The North Dakota Legislature has passed a series of bills dealing with abortion restrictions.
But a bill that would have banned all abortions failed in the state House Friday.
That bill – Senate Bill 2303 – was dubbed the “personhood” bill. It said life begins at conception, and must be protected at all stages of development. Under it, a doctor who performs abortions would be charged with murder.
“If we can determine that a seed is the definition of a plant, then we can certainly decide that an embryo is a human,” said Rep. Dan Ruby (R-Minot).
Opponents said it went too far. They worried about a potential ban on in vitro fertilization, and they said as written, it could mean doctors and families would have to ignore living wills or other end-of-life decisions.
“Health care providers may be confused about what procedures are allowable, and fearful that they will face jail time if they misinterpret the law while helping people at the end of their lives,” said Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Dickinson). “Please vote no on 2303, and leave these extremely difficult, private medical decisions to families and their doctors.”
That measure failed 49 to 43.
The House did pass a proposed Constitutional change that says life begins at conception. That measure -- SCR 4006 -- will go before North Dakota voters in 2014. The House also voted to ban abortions after 20 weeks, but that bill has to go back to the Senate for another look. Another bill would make it tougher for out of state doctors to come to North Dakota’s only abortion clinic.
