By Dave Andrusko
North Dakota is a solidly pro-life state. The state’s highest court is not.
On March 16, the North Dakota Supreme Court rejected Attorney General Drew Wrigley’s request to remove a preliminary injunction that prevented the state’s trigger law from taking effect.
“North Dakota Right to Life is shocked and deeply disappointed to hear the North Dakota Supreme Court is considering manufacturing a fictitious right to murder unborn babies,” said North Dakota Right to Life Executive Director McKenzie McCoy. “In Wrigley v. Romanick, three judges (a potential majority) opened the door to establish a non-existent right to abortion beyond medically necessary care. This decision undermines the power that the United States Supreme Court gave our state legislature in Dobbs v Jackson.”
Undeterred, the state Senate, by an overwhelming 37-9 vote, passed a bill to require North Dakota schools “to show students high-quality video of how a human fetus develops in each week of pregnancy,” Trisha Ahmed reported for the Associated Press.
According to Ahmed
The bill would mandate schools to show middle and high school students a high-definition ultrasound video, at least three minutes long, on the development of the brain, heart and other vital organs in early fetal development — along with a high-quality animation of the fertilization and human development process inside the uterus, “noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development for every week of pregnancy.”
“If young people see the beauty of these beginnings, then hopefully they’ll think twice before running to the abortion clinic,” Sen. Janne Myrdal, who helped introduce the bill, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“Opponents of the bill said they did not want to overstep by telling local schools how to teach, whereas supporters said lawmakers have the right to mandate curriculum in taxpayer-funded institutions,” Ahmed reported.