North Dakota Takes a Sh*t on Women's Rights

[marmar]

from AlterNet's PEEK:



North Dakota Takes a Sh*t on Women's Rights

Posted by Cara, Feministe at 3:04 PM on February 19, 2009.

The North Dakota House passes a bill giving rights to fertilized eggs.



For those who have not already read elsewhere, North Dakota's legislative House today passed a bill that would grant personhood, and the rights that go with it, to fertilized eggs.

A measure approved by the North Dakota House gives a fertilized human egg the legal rights of a human being, a step that would essentially ban abortion in the state.

The bill is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that extended abortion rights nationwide, supporters of the legislation said.

Representatives voted 51-41 to approve the measure Tuesday. It now moves to the North Dakota Senate for its review.

The bill declares that "any organism with the genome of homo sapiens" is a person protected by rights granted by the North Dakota Constitution and state laws.

The bill's sponsor, Dan Ruby, is clearly talking out both sides of his mouth. Because while in the article linked above he takes pains to note that the bill does not explicitly and directly outlaw abortion, he notes in this article that outlawing abortion and directly challenging Roe is precisely the point of the bill's chosen language.

For arguments about why granting full rights to fertilized eggs is not only a really bad idea on the basis of pro-choice and feminist beliefs, but also really stupid in a general sense too, see this post by Jill.

I would, however, just like to add that the language of this bill is also a direct challenge to contraception as well as abortion, since non-barrier methods of contraception are believed to maybe cause fertilized eggs to fail in attaching themselves the uterine wall. I'd also like to add that since that attachment to the uterine wall is the only real way that we are currently able to identify pregnancy, and therefore how we define it, this bill would also give these fertilized eggs rights from before the moment at which we are currently able to scientifically prove that they even exist. Just wrap your head around that one.

I haven't found any information yet on specific actions that you can take if you're in North Dakota to help to stop this bill before it gets any further. Once/if I do, I'll post it at the time.


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/127892/north_dakota_takes_a_sh%2At_on_women%27s_rights/

[MadBadger]

1. I really feel for the women of North Dakota. This bill is disgusting.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. North Dakota keeps pulling this nonsense,

and the bills keep getting defeated. The last one I recall was a referendum that the voters refuted.

It never fucking ends, does it?

[Qanisqineq]

3. That was South Dakota

this is the first one from North Dakota that I have heard about.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. Oh, damn.........

My ignorance shows. I had the feeling it was SD as I was writing it - there was a wonderful and comprehensive article about what was going on in South Dakota before the vote, and it really made an impression on me.

Not enough of one to prevent a stupid mistake.

Nice catch. Thanks.

[RC]

10. They gave up on South Dakota. They are working on us now.

[Wapsie B]

4. The egg is granted the rights of a person?

Well what about the sperm? Gotta outlaw male masturbation while they're at it.

[kestrel91316]

6. All miscarriages will now be investigated as homicides or missing persons

cases?

Ok. Works for me. Let us know in a couple years how that's working out for you, ND.

[foxfeet]

7. Well, an actual, living woman is of less worth than the "pre-born"

or, eventually, the "pre-conceived." (Please tell me I don't need to add the sarcasm thingie.)

[Control-Z]

8. And here I thought women

couldn't be devalued more than we already are.

[RC]

9. One of the things this law is doing is codifying women as being less

than full human beings. Her importance is in the eggs she carries. A brood animal. If we can more or less keep religion out of our schools, why can't we keep religion out of our laws?

[Still Sensible]

11. If it gets through the Senate it will eventually be struck down

by the courts. Just arch right wingers checking off their "Fundie Bona Fides" box before the next election.

[Rosco T.]

12. Does ND have a state income tax?

if so, time to file amended returns to claim another deduction.. on the fed forms also.. then when they get denied, grounds to have this insanity nullified.