ND Bishops Welcome Settlement

The North Dakota Catholic Conference, speaking on behalf of the Roman Catholic bishops of North Dakota, issued the following statement on the announcement by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem that the Red River Women’s Clinic is dismissing its attempt to nullify new safety laws for abortions.

Statement of the North Dakota Catholic Conference on Settlement of Abortion Lawsuit

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem announced today that the Red River Women’s Clinic has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against a 2013 law requiring that abortionists have admitting privileges at a local hospital.  The abortion clinic had challenged the law, claiming that it did not have to comply with the new safety standards because of an alleged right to abortion in the North Dakota Constitution.

The North Dakota Catholic Conference welcomes this development.  So long as abortion is legal, the health and safety of women having abortions must be protected. We are pleased that the abortion clinic decided to comply with this common sense law rather than tie up the courts with its attempt to invent an unfettered right to abortion
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Nevertheless, North Dakotans should be concerned that the clinic and its out-of-state lawyers are still trying to nullify common sense laws passed by the North Dakota legislature.  The only way to prevent this abuse of the legal system and this disregard for women’s health and safety is to pass the Human Life Amendment on the November ballot.  The amendment, which will be Measure One, will prevent judicial nullification of reasonable legislation that protects human life, including the lives of women having abortions.

www.ndcatholic.org