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North Dakota Personhood Bill Defeated

The North Dakota state Senate rejected a bill Friday that defines a person as beginning at the moment of fertilization and would have required doctors to tell women seeking an abortion that the procedure kills a human being. The bill, which passed in the state House 61 to 31 in February, failed in the Senate in a 29 to 16 vote, according to the Associated Press.

According to In Forum, the Senate Judiciary committee unanimously voted for a do-not-pass motion on the bill last week.

Such “personhood” laws are often thinly veiled attempts to ultimately eliminate abortion rights. “Personhood” laws also could potentially threaten women’s ability to access birth control and emergency contraception, IUDs, in-vitro fertilization and even emergency health care that might put a fertilized egg in danger.

Sources:

Associated Press 4/5/09; Feminist Daily Newswire 2/17/09, 10/23/08; In Forum 4/2/09

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