North Dakota Abortion Amendment Fails

[LiberalElite]

Source: Propublica.org

"A month ago, North Dakota's Measure 1 looked like a winner. The proposal sought to enshrine "the inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development" in the state constitution. It was up 17 points in the polls.

But on November 4, Measure 1 was crushed, and with it the hopes of both the state's Catholic hierarchy and the national band of activists who make up what has become known as the personhood movement. A proposed Colorado amendment with similar aims also went down to defeat.

The takeaway? Despite the efforts of its firebrand supporters, personhood — the principle that an embryo is a human being from the moment of conception — remains an idea whose time may not yet have come, at least at the ballot box."

Read more: http://www.propublica.org/article/north-dakota-abortion-amendment-fails?google_editors_picks=true

[Archae]

1. This "personhood" -type bill failed in Colorado, too. Again.

It failed even in Mississippi, for crying out loud!
But these fanatics who say they are "pro-life" will try anything, lie, cheat, anything, to get their way.

Just look how the most militant "pro-lifers" will destroy property, harass personnel, even commit murder.

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. good

[roamer65]

2. The pro-fetus whackos lose again.

Ha ha.

[Thinkingabout]

3. I really think if the abortion bills was put to the people to vote on them we would have

the same results. If these same groups was so anxious to provide for the children they want born as they are to prevent abortions I might listen to some, but they are only for forced births.

[leftieNanner]

6. And if they would allow comprehensive sex ed

in schools and good access to affordable contraception, there wouldn't be such a need for those abortions. But noooooo! (Sorry, I just had a John Belushi flash there)

[Hoppy]

15. Dontja know that providing for "those children" would lead to generations of welfare recepients?

They're not like you and me or their mothers wouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first place.

[Thinkingabout]

18. worse than future welfare probably Democrats, now that would be a failure for the GOP.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Nice to have a little good news.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I suspect it was on the ballot to get the conservatives to turn out to vote.

You know, red meat for them, get them fired up.

And to that extent, it worked.

[LAGC]

10. It's odd though...

Even with so many GOP victories last night, many states passed measures boosting minimum wage and now this news about anti-choice measures going down in defeat.

It's like so many Republican voters don't even know what the party platform is, or are suffering from some serious cognitive dissonance.

Talk about a disconnect here...

[CTyankee]

25. These antiabortion bills are going the way of the anti gay rights ads in recent past..

I was wondering when this would happen.

I see now that this is the wave of the future. Folks have moved on and don't want the anti gay stuff and don't want to change the pro choice stance of their state.

We have seen the future and it is us....

[mountain grammy]

7. Funny how more than 60% of voters rejected the personhood bill in CO

then elected Gardner who is still sponsoring such a bill in the US House of Representatives. They reject the message but not the messenger. Very strange.

[rpannier]

12. You'd likely know better since you're there

But everything I read, said that Udall ran a really poor campaign. So much so that one of larger financial supporters publicly told him to stop talking about abortion and talk about other issues

I haven't seen anything good about the way his campaign was run

[SheilaT]

8. I'm so glad to hear this.

I was an adult before Roe v Wade. I could tell you many stories of women with unwanted pregnancies, and what they did in desperation.

It enrages me that those who promote any sort of anti-choice measures clearly have no understanding of the realities of the situation. Even in the best of circumstances, birth control fails. But rarely is it the best of circumstances, and all too often women find themselves pregnant, when they didn't want to be. I don't believe men should ever have a say in this conversation . And as for the women that would deny choice, I say: If you don't believe in abortion then don't have one.

Period. End of discussion.

For all of us, as individuals, there are circumstances under which we'd go ahead and have the baby, given an honest choice. And other circumstances under which we wouldn't. No one ever has the right to judge anyone else's choice. My life is different from your. That is all any of us need to know. And in the end, we should all be treating each other with dignity and compassion.

This covers EVERYTHING. I am so sick of the wars between moms with jobs outside the home and moms without. The battles between those with children and those who don't have them. Listen up! We are all in this together. Our individual circumstances vary, but we should all be helping each other out insofar as we can.

[nomorenomore08]

11. "I don't believe men should ever have a say in this conversation."

No they shouldn't. Except to support women's right to bodily autonomy - anything else essentially says that men ought to have dominion over women's bodies, and that is all kinds of fucked up.

"For all of us, as individuals, there are circumstances under which we'd go ahead and have the baby, given an honest choice. And other circumstances under which we wouldn't. No one ever has the right to judge anyone else's choice. My life is different from your. That is all any of us need to know. And in the end, we should all be treating each other with dignity and compassion."

Very well said.

[SheilaT]

13. Thank you.

Sometimes I feel as if what I say is unheard, but your acknowledgement shows me that it is not.

[snappyturtle]

17. I heard you! I especially agree with this statement:

And as for the women that would deny choice, I say: If you don't believe in abortion then don't have one.


I've never heard of a case in the U.S. that forced a woman to have an abortion. I just don't get it. I wish these pro-lifers would put their efforts into something 'better'....e.g. feeding hungary children. Let's take care of the children we have.

[redruddyred]

28. their obsession is truly weird.

esp when we consider the growing problems of poverty, climate change. opposing abortion isn't only misogynist, it's also mind-blowingly stupid.

[PSPS]

9. These people don't want to control abortion

They just want to control.

[Odin2005]

14. THANK GOD, the ads for the amendment were disgusting.

Obviously paid actors who acted a RW stereotype of a "fallen woman" who had an abortion, regretted it, and found Jesus.

[Feral Child]

16. K&R n/t

[Arugula Latte]

19. Stick that up your big hats, RCC.

[BrotherIvan]

22. +1

[bucolic_frolic]

20. They don't need Amendments

Courts are already recognizing fetuses as people in cases involving
pregnant women and murder or car crashes.

It's their back door method.

[shenmue]

21. Whew

At least one good thing.

[redruddyred]

24. pro-choice-legalization-higher wage states voting for republicans.

is anyone else confused?

[shenmue]

26. Join me

[Ilsa]

27. I think it was on Rachel Maddow's show that we were

Treated to the details of Colorado's birth control program for teens. They give the young women the option of using either the copper IUD or progestin so they don't have to worry about running out of oral contraceptives or payments every month for pills. It's cut their unwanted pregnancy rate for teens by 40%.

[Aerows]

29. Too many people

Republican, Democratic, Independent and in between know they wouldn't be here if their own mother was not allowed to terminate a pregnancy that would kill their mother before she had them.

I know I'm one.

An inviable pregnancy is an inviable pregnancy. One that would kill your mother, terminates all chances of her ever having a child again, because both she and the clump of cells they want to protect perish.

Easy way to promote abortion - deny health care to women so that they die while trying and failing to reproduce.

Oh, and then whine when women resist bearing a bunch of kids. I have to ask, are you serious when you ask such things?