North Dakota Poised to Become First in the Nation to Limit Abortions Based on Sex Selection And Genetic Abnormalities Using AUL Model Legislation

"A civil society does not discriminate against people – born and unborn – for their sex or for disability.  We should be celebrating diversity, not destroying it," said AUL's Dr. Charmaine Yoest

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest commended the North Dakota legislature for passing an historic, first-in-the-nation bill, based on AUL model legislation, that would ban sex-selection abortions AND abortions for genetic abnormalities. Governor Jack Dalrymple had pledged earlier to sign the bill into law, which would make North Dakota the fifth state to ban the sexist practice of ending a child's life based on its sex. Importantly, North Dakota would also be the first state to end the practice of destroying unborn life based on potential genetic abnormalities.

"A civil society does not discriminate against people – born and unborn – for their sex or for disability.  We should be celebrating diversity, not destroying it," said Dr. Yoest. "Women in particular have been targeted for death in the womb, and we've also seen dramatic abortion rates for children with disabilities which put them at risk for extinction. The legislators in North Dakota have shown courageous humanity in passing this legislation."

North Dakota House Bill (HB) 1305, sponsored by Rep. Bette Grande, serves essential public interests by prohibiting both sex-selection abortion and abortion for genetic abnormalities. Sex-selection abortion is gender-based violence generally targeted toward females.  Likewise, abortion performed solely because of genetic abnormalities is discriminatory and devalues the lives of the disabled. 

While federal and state laws protect women and the disabled from discrimination, the unborn are not similarly protected.  HB 1305 cures this deficiency in the law and ensures protection for unborn children who are targeted for death solely because of their sex or genetic abnormalities. The other states that ban sex-selective abortions are Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.

For more information on AUL's model legislation, released annually in Defending Life, click here: http://www.aul.org/2013/02/the-defending-life-report/   

SOURCE Americans United for Life

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