ND House Passes Abortion Ban

[ccharles000]

North Dakota's House of Representatives has passed a bill effectively outlawing abortion.

The House voted 51-41 this afternoon to declare that a fertilized egg has all the rights of any person.

That means a fetus could not be legally aborted without the procedure being considered murder.

Minot Republican Dan Ruby has sponsored other bills banning abortion in previous legislative sessions - all of which failed.

He also sponsored today's bill and says it is compatable with Roe versus Wade - the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion.

(Rep. Dan Ruby, -R- Minot) "This is the exact language that's required by Roe vs. Wade. It stipulated that before a challenge can be made, we have to identify when life begins, and that's what this does."

VO CONTINUES

But Minot Democrat Kari Conrad says the bill will land North Dakota in court, trying to defend the constitutionality of a law that goes against the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

(Rep. Kari Conrad, -D- Minot) "People who presented this bill, were very clear that they intended to challenge Roe versus Wade. So they intend to put the state of North Dakota into court defending Roe vs. Wade"

The bill now goes to the North Dakota Senate.

http://www.kxmc.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=333726

[blonndee]

1. This *is* 2009, isn't it? And we are members of a "civilized" society, right?

Sigh. It's unbelievable that this is still something against which we have to fight, and fight hard.

[BlooInBloo]

6. Yes, and no.

[defendandprotect]

17. If you want to express yourself to Gov. John Hoeven, North Dakota . . .

e-mail . . .

[e-mail]

http://governor.state.nd.us/

A Republican --

and for Legislature . . .

[e-mail]

http://www.legis.nd.gov/information/general/contact.html

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. Is North Dakota being hit by the economic crisis?

Are they able and willing to spend the kind of TAXPAYER MONEY necessary to fight for this law *if* it passes and is signed into law, presumably, all the way up to SCOTUS? Umm....yeah....right. :eyes:

I hope that they're going to be providing some extra welfare funding for all those unplanned pregnancies that will no doubt be resulting from all that wonderful "abstinence-only" sex education. Right??? :eyes:

What's the matter with North Dakota???!! I take it the wingnuts have landed?

[noamnety]

3. I can see an interesting intersection of this and immigration law.

If you get pregnant in the US, but return to your home country to give birth ... does the fetus get US citizenship here? Or do they have to be born here for that?

[havocmom]

16. Excellant point! We should flood call in shows of the wing-nut variety and ask that!

Which is it? Person at birth or person at conception? They have to make a choice, but they just hate the C word.

[cliffordu]

4. You want someone to take out the garbage???

Tell your fetus to do it.

[Unrepentant Fenian]

5. Since they're now calling a fetus a person....

Since they're now calling a fetus a person, will a pregnant woman have to pay for two tickets to the movies, or have to buy two tickets for an airplane. Plus, it will make a great defense in court when a 20 1/2 year old gets busted for minor in possession of alcohol. All he has to argue is that, since life begins at conception, he was 21 years "old" , 20 years and 3 months after he slid out of the chute!

[iverglas]

7. hey!

Never mind charging pregnant women extra for shit!

Now pregnant women (or their partners) get dependant child tax deductions for embryos, and social assistance and any other benefits that might be going for embryos.

This is a gooood thing!

[blonndee]

8. Ooh! Ooh! I have a question!

If this catches on nationwide, I can get paid TWICE for my work, since it's two "persons" doing my job? (Or would that mean I get half? That seems more likely, unfortunately.) :(

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. In China,

a baby is considered one year old on the day of birth.

Of course, we all know that China is wide open on the subject of human rights and all that. A good template to follow, right?

Until that fetus gets a Social Security card, I'm not believing any of it.

And I want it to pay sales tax, too. From the moment of conception. On all the food the mother eats. And drugs she takes.

What does that fetus think? That it's a free ride?

I don't think so........................

[iverglas]

9. it's hard to believe anyone can be that stupid and walk upright

(Rep. Dan Ruby, -R- Minot) "This is the exact language that's required by Roe vs. Wade. It stipulated that before a challenge can be made, we have to identify when life begins, and that's what this does."

And now, what Roe v. Wade actually said, per Blackmun J.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0410_0113_ZO.html

Texas urges that, apart from the Fourteenth Amendment, life begins at conception and is present throughout pregnancy, and that, therefore, the State has a compelling interest in protecting that life from and after conception. We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.

... In view of all this, we do not agree that, by adopting one theory of life, Texas may override the rights of the pregnant woman that are at stake.

Amazing.

Life began in the primeval ooze.

The issue is when a human being, known to the law as a person, begins.

And we really all know the answer to that one.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. OK, now it's time for me to let you know when life begins:

A Roman Catholic priest, a Protestant minister, and a rabbi are in a bar, having a drink and chat.

They turn to the matter of when life begins.

The priest says, "Of course, we believe that life begins at the moment of conception."

The minister says, "We believe that life begins at birth."

The rabbi says, "No, no, life begins when the last kid leaves for college and the dog dies."

[flvegan]

10. Pregnant women rocking in the carpool lane! w00t!

Why are people so stupid? Wait...not people, just the ND House of Reps.

[Rosco T.]

12. as I asked in another thread... does ND have a state income tax??

Let the idjits pass it and the gov sign it. Then start filing amended returns claiming more deductions. Then start claiming them on federal returns "what? my little patch of cells are people in my state, you say they arent?"

Grab popcorn and watch the fun.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

14. There's more.......

If a fertilized egg attains "personhood" status, with all the rights and responsibilities attached, what about taxing males who masturbate?

After all, that's incipient life we're looking at, if only it had a place to go.

Remember that old joke? All the sperm are racing, one trying to get ahead of the other, wanting to be the Sacred Sperm that fertilizes the waiting egg.

Suddenly, the racing sperm run right into a bunch of sperm who are doubling back, screaming, "GO BACK!!!! GO BACK!!!! IT'S A HANDJOB!!!!!!"

"I got a million of 'em, folks, enjoy your evening, and don't forget to try the veal .............."

[defendandprotect]

15. So the pill and Plan B emergency contraception is now illegal in ND . . .???

[Danger Mouse]

18. Fucking misogynistic rethug scumbags.