North Dakota's Only Abortion Clinic Challenges Pro-Life Legislation     7/28/2009
By Rebekah Ries

North Dakota is home to only one abortion clinic, the Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo. Janne Myrdal, State Director of CWA of North Dakota, hopes this will soon change.

This year, the North Dakota legislature passed a package of bills aimed at protecting the rights of both pregnant women and unborn children. These bills, which received overwhelming support in the legislature, strengthened North Dakota's informed consent laws to ensure that women know the risks and alternatives to abortion.

Informed consent laws, combined with waiting periods and restrictions on where and when abortions can be performed, have the potential to dramatically decrease the number of abortions in North Dakota. A key component of this strategy is to allow women to see ultrasounds of their unborn children. If women can see the child they are carrying and know they have other options besides abortion, more of them will choose life. Pro-life supporters hope that this knowledge will go a long way toward helping North Dakota become the first abortion-free state.

But a lawsuit by the Red River Women's Clinic is threatening this vision. Backed by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, the Red River Women's Clinic is requesting an injunction against one small-but very important-provision of the legislation.

H.B. 1371, the bill in question, requires abortion clinics to perform an ultrasound on each patient and offer the woman the opportunity to view the image of her child. The law also requires that the ultrasound "accurately portray the presence of external members and internal organs, including the heartbeat." After seeing the details of their child's profile and hearing its heart beat, many women realize the value of the life they are carrying and decline the abortion procedure.

The Red River Women's Clinic is arguing that this requirement is too confusing and onerous for them to follow. Specifically, they contend that while the law requires that the fetal heart tone quality conforms to industry standards, there is no agreed-upon "standard" for them to follow. They also complain that the law does not explicitly say whether or not they are required to let the patient listen to the child's heart beat. Lastly, the clinic argues that the cost of buying ultrasound equipment that can detect the sounds of the fetal heart beat will force the clinic to close its doors.

"No one from the pro-abortion industry ever testified against H.B. 1371 at the appropriate time before the legislature, nor did they ever raise any concerns," Janne points out, "Now they want to use the judicial branch to override the will of the people." Once again, Janne says, the abortion lobby prefers to accomplish its goals through activist judges, ignoring the voices of the citizens of North Dakota.

Interestingly, the Red River Women's Clinic already has an ultrasound machine and claims to routinely perform ultrasounds on their patients, according to the clinic's website. And when the legislature held hearings on the ultrasound bill six months ago, the clinic never raised an objection to the requirement. Ultrasound equipment that is capable of relaying an unborn child's heart beat is not difficult to obtain. If the Red River Women's Clinic does not have this more sophisticated technology, pro-life supporters wonder, what quality of ultrasound images are they currently showing mothers?

If the cost is truly prohibitive, the facility could always send its patients to the nearby FirstChoice Clinic, a pro-life pregnancy resource center that recently purchased an ultrasound machine that relays fetal heart tones. The law does not require that the ultrasound be performed by the abortion clinic, says Representative Bette Grande, the bill's sponsor. It requires only that the woman be provided the opportunity to view an ultrasound 24 hours before the abortion is performed.

"There should be no argument here of government intrusion or undue duress on the woman," Janne says, "This is just good medical practice as applied to any other procedure. An uninformed choice is really no choice at all."

The Cass County District Court plans to hear arguments for the case on July 30. The Red River Women's Clinic is seeking a temporary injunction that would keep the law from taking effect as scheduled on August 1.

To get involved in CWA of North Dakota, go to http://nd.cwfa.org or e-mail director@northdakota.cwfa.org. If you would like to get involved with one of our other fine state organizations, please visit the CWA in the States site.

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