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Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Abortion, reproductive rights bills rejected in North Dakota House
Rep. Lori VanWinkle, R-Minot, speaks about abortion on the House floor on Feb. 12, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Four bills related to abortion and reproductive rights failed Wednesday in the North Dakota House. A so-called personhood bill would have allowed women who get abortions to be charged with murder. Two others sought to protect access to contraception and in vitro fertilization, while a fourth bill proposed what the sponsor called a 'common-sense' approach to abortion access. All failed with significant margins, with the pro-IVF bill garnering the most support. Members voted 77-16 against House Bill 1373, sponsored by Rep. Lori VanWinkle, R-Minot, which would have defined a human being to include an unborn child in state laws relating to murder, assault and wrongful death lawsuits. Abortion could be considered murder under fetal personhood proposal in North Dakota Opponents of the bill have said it would endanger IVF access in North Dakota, make it harder for doctors to treat pregnancy complications and lead to costly legal fights. North Dakotans previously rejected a personhood measure in 2014. VanWinkle argued in favor of the bill, referring to North Dakotans who accessed abortion by going to other states or obtaining medication by mail. 'The law is very clear. Murder is murder for everybody and it should be for anybody,' VanWinkle said. 'No matter what tool you use. Even if that tool is an abortion pill.' She also said that abortion may be one reason for the state's workforce shortage and referenced Scripture several times during her comments. 'Perhaps women are going to the IVF clinics because judgment is on their womb and God has effectively closed their womb because we are murdering massive amounts of children in our nation,' VanWinkle said. 'And if we would repent and do the right thing, maybe those people would actually get pregnant.' Several Republican lawmakers said it was a difficult bill. Rep. Kathy Frelich, R-Devils Lake, said she opposed the bill because it would be unenforceable. Rep. Matt Ruby, R-Minot, pointed to opposition from anti-abortion groups who argue against penalizing mothers. Members voted 87-6 against House Bill 1488, which would have allowed women to receive abortions for any reason through week 15 of pregnancy in North Dakota. Sponsor Rep. Eric Murphy, R-Grand Forks, said he brought the proposal in an attempt to find a 'common-sense' approach to abortion, citing a recent poll that found 55% of North Dakotans don't support the abortion ban approved by lawmakers in 2023. The law made all abortions illegal, except in cases of rape and incest in the first six weeks of pregnancy. It also included an exemption for women facing serious health risks. North Dakota judge vacates state abortion ban, ruling it unconstitutional A district court judge last fall struck down the law, finding it unconstitutionally vague and a violation of women's right to make their own health decisions. The judge also found that women have a right to choose abortion before the point of fetal viability. The state appealed the decision to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which has yet to make a final decision on the case. Murphy, who is a medical school professor, has said he brought the bill because of abortion bans around the country that have prevented doctors from taking care of their patients. His proposal also would have allowed abortions after 15 weeks with review of a committee of doctors, except for emergency situations. Rep. Karen Rohr, R-Mandan, a member of the House Human Services Committee, labeled Murphy's bill as 'abortion on-demand.' Murphy acknowledged his bill was a 'lightning rod' for criticism. 'Nonetheless, I decided to bring it so we could have the discussion,' Murphy said. 'So we could start thinking about a way forward to really provide obstetrics care.' House Bill 1477 and House Bill 1478, sponsored by Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, D-Fargo, would have enshrined protections for IVF procedures and contraception into state law. 'North Dakotans are asking us to protect their ability to seek medical care without government interference,' said Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, during floor debate. 'Fertility impacts thousands of families across our state and modern medicine provides safe, effective treatments to help them have children.' Rep. Gretchen Dobervich, D-Fargo, said contraception is legal in North Dakota but has been under attack across the country. She added contraception is a proven way to reduce abortions. Rep. Karen Anderson, R-Grafton, said the bill protecting contraception is unnecessary because the state has not limited access to the medication. The bill to protect IVF procedures failed 59-34 and the bill that would have protected contraception access failed 66-27. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee bill would require English-only driver's license exams, ban translation aids
Two Tennessee Republicans are again seeking to require all driver's license tests to be offered in English only – and ban dictionaries and other translation help. Rep. Kip Capley, R-Summertown, and Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, are sponsoring Senate Bill 1373, which would ban administration of driver's tests in any language but English, and prohibit translation dictionaries, electronic devices, and interpreters to assist in test administration. Capley proposed a similar bill last year, which drew 16 co-sponsors in the House, but stalled in the Senate. If passed, the measure would take effect on July 1. While there is no official language of the United States, state law does formally designate English as the official and legal language of Tennessee. All state publications, including ballots, are required to be produced in English. But there is no limitation or requirement on government documents being made available in other languages. Currently, written driver's license tests in Tennessee are offered in English, Spanish, German, Korean and Japanese. Test takers are allowed to bring a translation dictionary, but no interpreter or translation services are available. Driving tests are offered in English only. The test is not offered in the third and fourth most-spoken languages in the state: Arabic and Chinese. Luis Mata, policy coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, told The Tennessean he believes the bill would not only violate non-English speaking Tennesseans' rights under the Civil Rights Act, but would also make roads less safe. 'This is a regressive piece of legislation that would hinder economic and cultural opportunities for people that call Tennessee home, and would compromise road safety for everyone,' Mata said. 'This bill would have the effect of making it harder for families to get to and from work or school – and perpetuating this anti-immigrant language coming from our state legislature.' Mata sees restricting language offerings as the 'beginning of a slippery slope' of the state not making documents and forms available in languages many Tennesseans speak. 'Our diversity makes our state stronger,' Mata said. 'This is not only an attack against one group or one community. This English language-only effort is an attack on all of our immigrant communities.' Last year, a coalition of local immigrant groups filed complaints with federal agencies seeking to require the state to offer tests in more languages, and offer interpretation and translation services. The Our State, Our Languages Coalition, founded in 2022, argues that not doing so is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and amounts to discrimination by national origin. They also argued that U.S. Department of Transportation guidelines may also require inclusion of other highly-spoken languages, including Vietnamese, Somali, Swahili and Kurdish. Capley did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Watson said Capley brought the legislation to him to co-sponsor and deferred to Capley for comment. Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: New bill would make driver's tests English-only, ban dictionaries
