Amid Abortion Rulings, Record Reveals Concerning Trends

The 2013 legislative session resulted in some extreme attacks on women’s health in North Dakota, says the North Dakota Women’s Network (NDWN). The group recently published its 2013 Legislative Voting Record showing how each member of the state House and Senate voted on key bills that impact women and families.


“Every session, we take a position on bills we think impact women and their families,” said Renee Stromme, Executive Director NDWN. “For example, in 2013 we supported Medicaid expansion, but not drug testing for people who need help buying food.”


The group’s Legislative Voting Record rates lawmakers based on their support for women and families in areas such as education, economic security, voting rights, health, reproductive health and human rights. Unfortunately, any potential positives from the 2013 legislative session were overshadowed by the extreme attacks on women’s reproductive health.


“The recent rulings on abortion North Dakota legislation reveal a political body out of touch with constitutional rights and willing to spend state resources on losing battles. House Bill 1456, the fetal heartbeat abortion ban, has been preliminarily ruled as ‘clearly unconstitutional’ and yet passed by 63% of the legislature,” says Stromme. “It’s time for people to work hard over the next few years to elect policymakers who serve women and children. We can make a difference.”


The complete 2013 Legislative Voting Record report can be found here: Senate Voting Record and House Voting Record