North Dakota Legislature Sends Governor Bill to Help Stop Forced Abortions

From http://lifenews.com/state3957.html

North Dakota Legislature Sends Governor Bill to Help Stop Forced Abortions

by Steven Ertelt

LifeNews.com Editor

March 19, 2009
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Bismarck, ND (LifeNews.com) -- The North Dakota state legislature has given final approval to a bill that would require an abortion center in the state to post a sign saying women can't be forced into having an abortion. The bill is designed to stop some of the abortions where women feel pressured into making the decision.
With research showing as many as 40 percent of abortions involving women who say they feel pressured by a husband, boyfriend, friend or family member into having the abortion, the bill could have a big impact.
The state House voted 83-6 to approve the legislation and send it to Gov. John Hoeven to either sign into law or veto.
North Dakota has one abortion center, based in Fargo, called the Red River Women's Clinic and it did not weigh in on whether it supported or opposed the anti-coercion bill.
This kind of pro-life bill is a newer phenomenon in state legislation, and the state of Missouri has approved a similar measure before.

A few other pro-life bills are also making their way through the North Dakota state legislature.
Last month, the state House approved a personhood bill that declares unborn children as persons beginning at the point of fertilization, or conception. The bill could be used to challenge the Supreme's Court's infamous Roe v. Wade ruling and ban abortions.
The legislative chamber approved House Bill 1572 on a 51-41 vote and now the measure is under consideration in the Senate.
The House also approved measure requiring abortion practitioners to tell women that abortion kills a human being and that human life begins at the point of conception. Those are pieces of information that women considering an abortion are rarely told beforehand.
Members of the chamber voted 61-31 to endorse the measure, HB 1445.
The vote follows another one in the House where lawmakers passed HB 1371 on a strongly bipartisan 77-9 vote. That was a measure allowing women a chance to see an ultrasound of their baby prior to an abortion. The bill is designed to help women learn the humanity of their unborn child and to consider abortion alternatives.

Pro-life advocates say the bill is important because the Red River Women’s Clinic is expected to set a record for the number of abortions it is doing annually.
The abortion center has been doing abortions for just over ten years and did a record 1,358 abortions in 2003 and another 1,238 abortions last year.
Related web sites:North Dakota Legislature - http://www.legis.nd.govNorth Dakota Right to Life - http://www.ndrl.orgNorth Dakota Family Alliance - http://www.ndfa.org

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