Jenna Vanhorne, Steele

SB 8 recently went into effect in Texas and is the most dangerous abortion legislation in our nation’s history.

It strips away access to our constitutionally protected right of having a safe and legal abortion. This law is a full-scale assault on patients, health care providers, and our constitution. It is designed to intimidate lawful citizens by using the civil courts to blur the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments. This is unjust, unfair, and un-American. This gross constitution-busting bill is giving us a mere glimpse into the deep tar pit of what is now accepted as proper and ethical legislation presented by our elected officials.

In nearby states, we’ve seen attacks on family planning and access to contraception. If the goal is to prevent abortion, why remove solutions? In North Dakota we have seen politicians block funding for vital sex education programs wasting taxpayer money to fight against common sense.

Policies like SB 8 exacerbate health inequities by harming people with low incomes and those living in rural areas. I’m sure we’ve all heard the argument presented how welfare recipients are such giant burdens on our taxes. How is forcing people, who are already disadvantaged, to have more children going to relieve this supposed strain?

The present foster care system is overloaded. Can you imagine how many tax dollars are going to go to raising all these otherwise unwanted children? It takes well over $300,000 to raise a child to age eighteen; now, multiply that by the thousands already in this broken system.

Regardless of where you live, access to safe and legal abortion is essential to proper healthcare. I call on every elected official in North Dakota to stand up for our rights, our health care, our tax dollars and to use some common sense before considering any attempt to recreate this kind of legislation in ND.