American Civil Liberties Union

Update: The North Dakota legislature passed a bill today that bans most abortions in the state. Should this bill be signed into law by the governor, North Dakota will become the first state in the nation to ban most abortions.

Some politicians in North Dakota are so intent on taking away a woman’s ability to make personal, private decisions they are pushing a package of bills that, together, would ban abortion, prevent women’s health centers from providing comprehensive care, and block many people’s attempts at even starting a family.

Isn't it outrageous that we even have to ask that question?

In Arkansas this week, the State Senate passed a bill that would ban almost all abortions. Within a month, women in Arkansas could be prevented from receiving abortion care, no matter what their circumstances.

In North Dakota, the legislature is poised to vote on set of bills that aim to ban abortion, close down women's health centers, and could prevent couples from using in-vitro fertilization to build their family. The Senate is expected to vote on those bills next week.

Today, Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli strong-armed the VA Board of Health into reversing previous decisions based on medical evidence and patient safety in favor of unprecedented regulations on doctors and facilities that provide abortion care. This political move will endanger women by shutting down good, safe providers of abortion care. In a year when we have seen numerous politicians show utter disregard for women’s health, the story of today’s vote illustrates just how far some politicians will go to interfere in a woman’s personal, private decision making. 

This year, voters have overwhelmingly rejected personhood initiatives sending  messages to personhood proponents, as in:  ‘over.’  ‘Finito.’  Not interested. The fat lady has sung and your idea is a loser.

You would have thought the writing was on the wall.  Last November, voters in Mississippi decisively defeated a personhood initiative which, if passed, would have amended the state Constitution to grant legal rights to fertilized eggs, and in the process ban many forms of hormonal contraception and in-vitro fertilization, not to mention all abortions – without exceptions.  Mississippians resoundingly rejected that proposal by a 16- point margin.  And that was in Mississippi, arguably the most conservative state in the nation.