US state passes strict anti-abortion bill
Source: Agencies |
March 28, 2013, Thursday
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A Republican governor has signed legislation on the strictest abortion law in the United States, banning the procedure if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
Supporters said the North Dakota law is a direct challenge at the US Supreme Court's landmark 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until a fetus is considered viable, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.
"Although the likelihood of this measure surviving a court challenge remains in question, this bill is nevertheless a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries of Roe vs Wade," Governor Jack Dalrymple said in a statement.
The law also is an attempt to close the rural state's only abortion clinic, the Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo. Its director Tammi Kromenaker called the legislation "extreme and unconstitutional."
Minutes after the governor signed the anti-abortion measures on Tuesday, unsolicited donations began pouring into the clinic to help opponents prove the new laws are unconstitutional.
Abortion-rights advocates have promised a long legal fight that they say the state can't win.
North Dakota lawmakers also moved last week to outlaw abortion in the state by passing a resolution defining life as starting at conception, essentially banning abortion in the state. The measure is likely to come before voters in November 2014.
Dalrymple on Tuesday also signed into law other measures that make the state the first to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome and require a doctor who performs abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges.
The measures also ban abortion based on genetic selection.
Supporters said the North Dakota law is a direct challenge at the US Supreme Court's landmark 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until a fetus is considered viable, usually at 22 to 24 weeks.
"Although the likelihood of this measure surviving a court challenge remains in question, this bill is nevertheless a legitimate attempt by a state legislature to discover the boundaries of Roe vs Wade," Governor Jack Dalrymple said in a statement.
The law also is an attempt to close the rural state's only abortion clinic, the Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo. Its director Tammi Kromenaker called the legislation "extreme and unconstitutional."
Minutes after the governor signed the anti-abortion measures on Tuesday, unsolicited donations began pouring into the clinic to help opponents prove the new laws are unconstitutional.
Abortion-rights advocates have promised a long legal fight that they say the state can't win.
North Dakota lawmakers also moved last week to outlaw abortion in the state by passing a resolution defining life as starting at conception, essentially banning abortion in the state. The measure is likely to come before voters in November 2014.
Dalrymple on Tuesday also signed into law other measures that make the state the first to ban abortions based on genetic defects such as Down syndrome and require a doctor who performs abortions to be a physician with hospital-admitting privileges.
The measures also ban abortion based on genetic selection.
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