Personhood vs Property - pg. 8 Delivering Grace North Dakota: A National Leader in Choosing Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 4 A PUBLICATION OF THE NORTH DAKOTA RIGHT TO LIFE
North Dakota Right to Life (NDRL) is committed to delivering grace through education, legislation, and public policy. We are committed to making sure each person in our state is protected and valued under our Constitution. We are dedicated to supporting and protecting pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes. We will work to decrease the financial costs of adoption and seek to reform the foster care system. We are dedicated to supporting a mobile pregnancy unit that will provide services to women right where they are. We will champion holistic, life-affirming sexual education for our youth. Are these bold statements? Absolutely. But the time to be bold is now.
NDRL is dedicated to helping grow and strengthen the tree of life in North Dakota, and we have our running shoes on. The road will be bumpy. There will be uphill climbs and downhill tumbles. We will experience great joy and great sorrow. We will experience victories and suffer great defeats. We will make mistakes. We will learn and grow in wisdom. And we will experience joy along the path. But we won’t do it alone. By collaborating and communicating with all of the branches of the tree of life and being each other’s cheerleaders, North Dakota will become the road map for other states to follow on their journey to becoming a sanctuary for life.
a public official standing up in the face of angry shouts and persecution. It looks like a baby in an ultrasound picture. It looks like you and me.
Earlier this year I was honored with the opportunity to be a speaker at North Dakota’s first statewide Life Conference hosted by the North Dakota Family Alliance. I talked about shoes, trees, and grace.
I also really like trees. I am especially captivated by the trees that manage to grow and thrive in the high plains desert of western ND. They remind me of the pro-life movement – against all odds, the tree miraculously continues to adapt, live, and grow despite the natural hardships constantly working against it.
I really like shoes. I’m a firm believer that one must have the appropriate footwear for the mission. I was never a Girl Scout, but I would imagine that in their survival guide “Appropriate Footwear” is listed first.
Join us at NDRL in delivering grace to our beloved state!
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McKenzie McCoy Executive Director
Whatmovement.doesdelivering grace look like? It looks like a nurse at a pregnancy resource center with a smile that radiates from her eyes, a sidewalk counselor with an outstretched hand, a friend waiting to catch you, and a whispered prayer from the lips of a stranger. It looks like
The unraveling of Roe has presented the pro-life movement with the opportunity to put grace on full display! This is the moment we have been waiting for! Our mission is shifting, and our tree of life is starting a new phase of growth. Where can you deliver grace to the tree of life and what shoes are you going to step into for that mission?
With appropriate shoes and the mental image of the tree of life to fortify us, we are properly equipped to tackle the mission of delivering grace inside and outside of the prolife
Welcome to the First Issue of Delivering Grace!
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Champion Churches Initiative 20
John Heinen, 2nd Vice President
Refocus: Supreme Court Decision Changes the Focus of the Pro-Life Movement
Print 22 VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 1
Joy Singh, Treasurer
McKenzie McCoy, Executive ConsultantsDirector Sierra AndSowmyaHeitkampKuramanchiallofourchapter members and ©volunteers2022by
Lancer LaBar, Association President
The Future of the Abortion Battle Dakota
People of the Fine
Legislative Wins for Life Continue to Mount 11
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Welcome to the First Issue of Delivering Grace! 2
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www.words4life.org
Board of Directors:
Personhood vs Property: Why Every American Should Be Concerned That Our Laws Treat Babies as Property
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17 We Can Reverse Chemical Abortions 19 North
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Growing the Tree of Life: Reconstruction After Roe
Sandra Sanford, 1st Vice President
North Dakota Right to Life and Words4Life Inc. All Rights Reserved.
North Dakota: A National Leader in Choosing Life
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Cionda Holter, Assistant Executive Director
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With the recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, many states are working to enact pro-life policies. Many of them are turning to North Dakota, which has been working to create a pro-life culture in the state for over 25 years. The Dobbs decision is paving the way for an existing trigger law to go into effect, and the state’s pro-life movement also seeks to expand existing policies that support women and children. Here’s a look back at the incredible success we’ve experienced in the last 25 years.
One of the first such bills to become law was an ultrasound bill. This bill required that an abortion provider must offer
North Dakota
On to the Legislature
A National Leader in Choosing Life
This bill passed easily and was signed into law in 2009. However, a lawsuit quickly challenged it. The lawsuit claimed that this requirement was too onerous for abortion clinics. Former Representative Bette Grande, who sponsored the bill, saw that the clinics’ argument was flawed. She pointed out that the new law required the ultrasound be provided to a quality consistent with standard medical practice. If the abortion clinic, a purported medical facility, couldn’t provide such an ultrasound and allow the mother to hear her child’s heartbeat, it would have to acknowledge that it failed to provide standard quality services.
Little by Little, Inch by Inch
each woman seeking an abortion an active ultrasound consistent with standard medical practice, and mandated a 24-hour waiting period between viewing the ultrasound and receiving an abortion. The law requires that the ultrasound accurately show the baby’s arms, legs, organs, and beating heart with an audible fetal heart tone.
This program has been and will continue to be an area of focus for the pro-life movement. But legislators still wanted to do more to limit abortions. Though this was challenging, they were able to get some significant legislation passed.
This lose/lose situation for the abortion clinic was made
In the 1990s, lawsuits and federal policy made banning abortion difficult. So the movement focused on abortion alternatives. North Dakota was one of the first to create a state-funded abortion alternatives program. It provides support for pregnancy centers, adoption centers, and maternity homes. The program reimburses centers for their work on a fee-for-services basis. Setting it up this way allows for a diversity of services and a broader array than a grant program would provide. Overall, this helps give women the resources they needed to consider other options. And every time the program expands or improves, the percentage of pregnancies ending in abortion in the state goes down.
The law requires a modern ultrasound with fetal heart tone to meet the requirements of informed consent, but the clinic could not and would not provide that service.
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of an unborn child: the offspring of a human being from conception until birth.
This law passed in 2011. The Red River Women’s Clinic challenged it, and it eventually went to the North Dakota Supreme Court. There, the court upheld the law, though this process delayed its going into effect until 2014.
The year 2013 proved to be a big year for the pro-life movement in North Dakota. First up was the prenatal nondiscrimination bill. This banned abortion for sex selection and for any genetic abnormalities, including — but by no means limited to — Down syndrome.
Building on Success
Next was the heartbeat bill. North Dakota was the first state in the country to have a full heartbeat bill signed. This new law banned abortion after a heartbeat was detectable via ultrasound, with very limited exceptions. This law went to federal court. Unfortunately, the US district court judge ruled that the law be blocked. The attorney general took it to the appellate court, which gave the same response.
The bill also included control over medical abortions. It required that medical abortions be done in compliance with FDA standards. Medications could not be used off-label to trigger an abortion. And women had to see a doctor in person to get a drug to trigger abortion.
As the appellate court had noted, the language in the law was very strong. So strong, in fact, that it set a model for state after state to set up their own heartbeat bills. While some of these bills differ from North Dakota’s in their provisions for rape and incest or various markers by week, former Representative
The appellate court argued that North Dakota’s heartbeat law was strong, and that it had the language necessary to go to the Supreme Court. The attorney general took it to the Supreme Court, which declined to take it up. However, the Court planned to consider a similar bill from Arkansas. Unfortunately, the timing coincided with Justice Scalia’s passing, which delayed the process.
Gaining Momentum
complete by the pro-life movement’s willingness to provide the services at issue. The pro-life clinics in the state had the necessary ultrasound machines, and they were willing to provide ultrasounds for free. All the abortion clinics had to do was send their patients over. With this option available the undue burden argument fell flat, and the law remains in effect.
Bolstered by this victory, the legislature rewrote and corrected language in another piece of legislation, the Abortion Control Act. This act covered all the laws related to abortion and put the laws in a more uniform state. It included a description
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Although an abortion clinic initially challenged the law, it later withdrew its complaint. Since the law was never challenged, North Dakota became the first, and until this year the only state in the nation to ban abortions for reasons of sex and genetic abnormalities.
Of course, better support for mothers so they don’t find themselves in such a situation is far preferable. That’s where the pro-life movement has turned its attention in recent years. For example, the abortion alternatives program has done a lot of good work. But it’s currently underfunded, and the money that supports it can’t be used for medical services. So, the program can’t cover things like ultrasounds and pregnancy tests. Many members of the pro-life movement would like to see this change. They’d also like to expand its coverage to at least a year after birth.
Creating a Culture of Life
Christopher Dodson, the executive director and general counsel of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, has been part of the pro-life movement for decades. He notes that with all of these options, some controversial, it’s important that the movement keep its eyes on the prize. The true goal, he says, is “not just overturning Roe, but making abortion unthinkable and building a culture of life in the state.” Many of these options can help further that goal.
It’s a lofty but essential goal. It will require both strong legislation and committed citizens. Fortunately, North Dakota has both. And it’s creating an effective roadmap to encourage other states to join them on the journey toward life.
Another goal for pro-life legislators is to move forward with applying the trigger ban and having the heartbeat bill reinstated. These bills then need to be integrated and clarified to smooth out any discrepancies between the two.
Other Help for New Mothers
North Dakota also has provisions in place to help mothers who do choose life, including safe haven options. For up to a year after giving birth, a mom who finds herself in crisis can bring her baby to a fire station, police station, or hospital. The baby will be cared for with no questions asked and nothing required of the mother. The mother can walk away at any point during that first year if she finds parenting too overwhelming. While this isn’t an ideal solution, it still gives the baby a chance at life.
Grande finds the progress encouraging. She notes that over the years since Roe v. Wade was established, many people have failed to recognize the reality of life in the womb. Some of these pro-life steps may be small, but they are important for changing the narrative and changing hearts, minds, and souls.
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Senator Janne Myrdal currently leads the North Dakota Legislature’s pro-life caucus. She has worked hard to protect and strengthen existing legislation. Now, she believes expanding the alternatives to abortion program is essential. She hopes that North Dakota will be able to “create a culture where abortion would be unthinkable because we undergird women and newborns and unborn children with the services they need.”
There are a variety of ways to expand resources and support for women, children, and families. These range from tax deductions during pregnancy to expanded childcare to sales tax exemptions for diapers.
Your owner could make lives a business, and amass a lot of money doing so. Yes, he could even make ending your life a sport if he so desired.
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Early Christians were notable for their stance upholding the worth of children. They understood that each person was created in the image of God, and lived out that truth even to the point of illegally saving abandoned children and adopting them.
Imagine what your life would be like if you were the property of another human. Your owner could do with you as he or she wanted. He could use your body for economic gain – sex trafficking. Or she could dispose of you if you became an inconvenience, claiming her complete legal autonomy to do so is “reproductive justice.”
In the 2000 epic historical drama Gladiator, actor Russell Crowe illustrated this. Many gladiators were sacrificed for an afternoon’s entertainment in the Ancient Roman Coliseum.
Many are familiar with Lord Acton’s quote, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In his treatise Human Sacrifice, Acton traces from antiquity how different cultures and religions around the world practiced human sacrifices. From my vantage point, the treatise illustrates the corrupting power of stripping fellow humans of their personhood, whether for cultic or civil purposes. W.E.H. Lecky wrote that, “Infanticide was one of the deepest stains of the ancient civilizations.”
Why Every American Should Be Concerned That Our Laws Treat Babies as Property
By Ricardo Davis
Personhood vs Property
You’ve probably heard of philosopher Richard Weaver’s famous dictum “ideas have consequences.” The idea that life is sacred – even in the weak, deformed, or unwanted –made its way from Jesus to His followers, to cultures, to governments, and even to laws. It took centuries to happen, but those laws, and that idea, held sway for many more centuries in the West. Today, they’re losing ground.
But the most serious setback is that certain classes of people can be deemed non-persons by law. And if they’re non-persons, they’re property – to be bought, sold, discarded, or used as desired. Just follow the money and you’ll understand why some people want to own other people as property. It’s self-evident in the elective abortion industry. “My body, my choice” is more than just political sloganeering by the abortion lobby.
Another historian, Ferdinand Schenck, wrote that “The intrinsic worth of each individual man and woman as a child of God and an immortal soul was introduced by Christianity.” That concept went deep into the conscience of Rome, and later Europe. After making Christianity legal, Emperor Constantine enacted many laws to protect human life.
Nowstatus.21st
Much like Germany in the 1940s, the laws in the U.S. allow for experimentation on and extermination of pre-born babies. An experiment conducted in 2008 provides the disturbing proof that babies are considered property.
Cornell University researchers experimented with genetic modification in humans. They injected a fluorescent gene from an Australian jellyfish into a healthy pre-born infant. The goal was to see if the child’s cellular division would pass on the fluorescent trait. It did. The baby became the first animal/human hybrid and glowed in the dark. Later, the baby was killed under regulations that permitted governmentfunded human embryonic research. To date there are no federal restrictions prohibiting privately funded research on children at the early stages of their lives.
Follow the Chain of Events
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Legalizing Experimentation and Extermination
Modern legal systems, particularly in the Western common law nations, see all things as either persons or property. For hundreds of years, with unfortunate exceptions, human beings were held to be persons from conception to their last breath.
By the end of the 19th century, America had extinguished the resurgence of elective abortion, commonly referred to as “medical malpractice,” by dealing with the corruption in state and local governments that allowed its practice. With the rise of social Darwinism on the one hand and political libertinism on the other, the 20th century ushered in unrestricted elective abortion on babies during their first three months of life in the womb. Babies in the second and third trimester had only slight protections, easily circumvented by law or practice. Babies became property, and were rendered so by legal constructs that changed their
century America is removing the scant protections as states governments are funding elective abortion and permitting infanticide with those children that survive an attempted abortion. Legislative attempts to declare the personhood of the pre-born child are legal dead ends when the legislation fails to treat elective abortion as homicide.
Evidence of the decline of personhood abounds, from erosion of the rule of habeas corpus to property confiscation without due process, to human trafficking – and much more.
If you find this event chilling, you’re not alone – but the mentality is nothing new. The Nazi medical researcher Josef Mengele experimented
Now the exceptions are becoming the rule. Persons are becoming property – things that can be used by more privileged people or the state.
Follow the Money
The mentality that classifies some people as property is disturbing. Many people justify it with utilitarian thinking. The history of mankind illustrates that a low view of human life does not confine itself to those we don’t care about. It will
The first step to reverse the cheapening of life is restoring the Christian legacy of personhood in our communities. Georgia’s abortion laws are like a longabandoned building: there is little to no protection to the child from the icy death grip of winter. Unless families, churches, social service organizations, businesses, and elected officials in Georgia work to rebuild protections for all innocent human life from lethal threats, no statewide effort or legislation will reverse the trend.
To the Birth Mother with Choices to Make: Regardless of circumstance, we believe you are worthy of carrying and birthing this child You are loved unconditionally You matter. Your child matters. Your role matters. You will always be your child's birth mother, even if you choose someone else to parent your child.
eventually affect every one of us. Before long, any one of us could be targeted and stripped of our personhood.
To the Parents who are Waiting to be Chosen: Trust in God's timing. There is no greater honor than for a birth family to choose you to love and raise their child. And to You, Precious Child: You were created by a powerful & almighty God in His priceless image with intention & for a purpose. You are worthy of blessing others with your God given talents and gifts You are worthy of knowing the unconditional love of Jesus. You are worthy of Jlife.
n r i c h i n g t h e L i f e Y o u w e r ne r i c i n g t h e L i f e Y o u w e r e C r e a t e d t o L i v Ce r e a t e d t o L i eE E R e s e r v e y o u r G r a s s f e d A n g u s B e e f S e e h o w o u r f a m i l y r a i s e s y o u r b e e f C h e c k o u t u p c o m i n g e v e n t s i n N D B o o k s c h o o l s , s e m i n a r s & m o r e A V A I L A B L E N O W A: V A A B E N O W : 1 0 0 % G R A S S F E D B E E 1F 0 0 % G R A S S F E D B E E F & & R e g e n e r a t Re e g e n e r a t e S c h o o l s & R e t r e a t Ss c h o o l s & R e t e a t s V i s i t u s @ S e e k F i r s t R a n c h . c o m TM L701-400-0591 and Relationships Wealth
In the 19th century, local efforts exerted pressure to end the American slave trade by refusing to obey laws that sustained it on one hand and providing shelter and protection to slaves that escaped on the other hand. Because people aren’t property, it’s time to apply similar pressure to end elective abortion across th U.S.
11 years ago, a woman made a series of choices that would impact our lives for eternity. First she chose life. Then she chose us. Out of all the people in the world, she chose us to be her child's parents We celebrate this honor & her courage every day as we watch our daughter grow. Every life is precious. Every person matters.
in a similarly inhuman way. Like the Cornell researchers, he treated his subjects as property –as things he could manipulate any way he liked.
Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s take on this mentality in German culture was incisive.
oshua & Tara Dukart Hazen, ND
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“Destruction of the embryo in the mother’s womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed upon this nascent life. To raise the question whether we are here concerned already with a human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And this is nothing but
Themurder.”Way to Advancing Personhood
see
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The legislative wins continue to stack up in North Dakota. NDRL is honored and blessed to be a part of the best group of statewide life policy advocates in the nation! NDRL would like to thank the ND Life Caucus, Concerned Women for America, ND Catholic Conference, ND CAN, and ND Family Alliance for all of their support, guidance, and wisdom during the 67th ND Legislative Session.
Life Protectors 2022 Legislative Victories 2022 Score Card 2022 Scan the codes
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Legislative Wins for Life Continue to Mount
Protecting the sanctity of life is a big job. Without courageous lawmakers willing to vote for life, our efforts would be fruitless. We were ecstatic to announce that our entire federal delegation and 92 state legislators qualified for our 2022 Life Protector Award. These lawmakers scored 100% on their respective scorecards this year. to all the details of an legislativeamazingyear.
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ReFocus
By Dr. William Lile
You see, pregnancy resource centers are on the front lines of the Gospel. Every woman who comes into a pregnancy resource center needs Jesus. Her husband or boyfriend and her babies need Jesus. And there is no one who has a better opportunity to share Jesus with them than the people who work and volunteer at these centers. If we could lead all of these women and those connected to them to a right relationship with their Creator, we would see this nation turn toward
We can’t abandon these women and children. We have to be prepared to help them in their time of need, and stick with them as they go through their pregnancies and births, and as they raise their children. If we want to see this nation turn to the Lord, we
Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz once said, “If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.” This is the attitude the pro-life movement needs now!
Turning women away from abortion and toward Christ is an effort that is much bigger than defeating Roe v. Wade. It requires all of us to be involved — now! Please become familiar with the local pregnancy center in your area. Contact the people there and let them know that you will be praying for them, that you appreciate their ministry, and ask how you can support their ministry.
From our conception, we bear the image of God. And this spiritual dimension frames the entire issue, for abortion is fundamentally an attack against God. In Genesis 1:26, the triune God said “Let us make man in our image.” Abortion is an attack against that image, and thus a war against God leveled at the evidence of Him that we can see and touch.
This is why your local pregnancy resource center deserves the time and support of the church. Church leaders need to understand how many people come to know Jesus in these centers. They are a Gospelcentered ministry that sees lives saved spiritually and physically every day. Few local ministries come close to this kind of impact.
have an opportunity before us that will help us do just that.
Remember,Christ.we
Dr. William Lile, DO, FACOG, “The ProLifeDoc,” is Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is licensed to practice medicine in both Florida and Alabama. He has been an instructor for both the University of Florida and Florida State University, OB/GYN residency programs. He is the former chairman of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, FL. He has an active practice in Pensacola, FL.
However, there’s an even bigger and more important battle — it’s in every pregnancy resource center in the country, particularly in states that will increase the restrictions on abortion. In these states, we’ll see a much higher number of women who will, praise God, be delivering their babies.
Supreme Court Decision Changes the Focus of the Pro-Life Movement
are all created in the image of God — not at the time of our birth, but at the time of our conception. At the moment of conception, each baby is genetically unique from the mother and also from the father. In fact, each child is genetically unique from the other seven billion people on the planet. He or she is a whole person from the very start.
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The recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was a huge victory for the cause of life. We need to celebrate this victory and rejoice. A lot of people worked very hard to see this day in our nation. They deserve our honor and respect. But if the decision to overturn Roe was big, what we need to do now is even bigger. The political battle has now shifted from one court in Washington, DC to 50 different state courts, legislatures, and governors.
We were already seeing an increase in the number of women carrying their babies to term as states implemented more restrictions on abortion. But now the number will go up significantly. This is what we wanted. This is what we fought for.
Let’s re-imagine the landscape of LIFE in North Dakota post-Roe. The Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was a monumental event, one many of us never thought we’d see. But now that abortion law has been returned to the states, we have even more work to do in North Dakota. And just as importantly, the circumstances, misinformation, and confusion that cause young mothers to consider abortion in the first place have not gone away. As we look toward the future, here are some of the priorities North Dakota Right to Life is focused on first.
Reconstruction After Roe
Growing the Tree of Life
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Those numbers might not seem high to some people, but to understand the true human cost, consider if those “terminated pregnancies” were instead instances of women “aborting” their one-year-old children. There is no moral difference and very little practical difference. Every one of those 833 children was a full human being who should have had a life that was supported and nurtured by other people, not ended by them.
Spiritual Adoption Education Program—NDRL is challenging schools, families, businesses, individuals, and organizations to partner with us to spiritually adopt
If we are to create a culture of life in North Dakota, loving these women and men here in our own state is crucial. We do not want them going over our borders to seek a “solution” that leads only to sorrow. NDRL is committed to re-educating a society that has been brainwashed by the mantras of the culture of death, rekindling the sanctity of life, and restoring the truthful definition of love—to will and to act for the good of another. Here are two programs we provide to put love into action.
NDRL Champion Church—NDRL is calling on the churches to step out and be bold with us. The Church is where the true definition of love is found, taught, modeled, and protected. The NDRL Educational Trust will walk next to you and your congregation, and help your church move from “being prolife” to “Living Prolife.” Find out more by emailing office@ndrl.org.
So NDRL has asked two questions: “Why are North Dakota women seeking abortion?” and “How are we going to prevent them from seeking abortion across our state borders?” There were many answers to both questions, but the theme that ran through every answer was love.
Based on the statistics from the North Dakota Occurrence Induced Termination of Pregnancy Report for 2020, 833 North Dakota women ended the lives of their unborn children by abortion.
LOVE THEM HERE INITIATIVE
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At NDRL we are aware of the reality that is our world. Since Roe was overturned, everything—yet nothing—has changed in North Dakota. We are very aware that abortion is still legal in other states, and that ND women will go over the borders to Minnesota and Montana to seek abortion. However, the tree of life will be here waiting to welcome these women home with love and healing. Postabortion healing programs are the key to pouring grace and love over the wounds of our states’ and nation’s most horrendous holocaust. NDRL is committed to bringing awareness to this seldom-talked-about subject. NDRL will continue to work closely with the Post Abortive Ladies Panel to bring the voice of the post-abortive women and men to the public, and expose the truth of what happens in an abortion and its aftermath. Sign up for email updates to make sure you don’t miss an NDRL Education Series featuring the stories that very few are willing to tell.
Women and children will need love, care, and assistance in post-Roe North Dakota. Our pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and the foster care system need our help and they need your help. Through our legislative and policy efforts, NDRL will be working to strengthen these vital services. More hands, more feet, and more resources from you will be needed to sustain and grow these branches of the tree of life. Are you being called to serve in this branch? Find the nearest center to you on our website under the Resources tab and contact them today!
CARE FOR THEM HERE INITIATIVE
833 unborn babies and their mothers this school year. The Spiritual Adoption Program solidifies the science that human life starts at the moment of conception and the spiritual understanding that all human life is sacred. Those who spiritually adopt a baby will learn biological developmental milestones every month; meditate on specific joys, needs, or hardships moms may be facing; name their spiritually adopted baby; throw a baby shower for them; and pray for them. Sign up for this program and receive the Spiritual Adoption Resource Guide and rekindle your passion for the sanctity of life.
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PROTECT THEM HERE INITIATIVE
Laws and public policy are vital tools in the prolife movement’s tool chest. NDRL is committed to drafting, lobbying, and advocating for legislation in the 2023 session that will enhance and further protect our abortion-free status and proactively position ND to protect end of life and quality of life issues. We need you to be ready to answer legislative calls to action during the 2023 session. Sign up for these crucial alerts on our website under the Public Policy tab. In the meantime, find out what legislative district you are in and who your district legislators are to lay the base that you will need to answer our calls to action.
The Abortion Pill causes the mother’s body to withhold the life-sustaining hormone progesterone from the baby. Without this hormone, a baby with a strong heartbeat will die quickly. Then, after taking the first drug, the mother must take a medication called Cytotec. This drug will induce strong contractions to expel the baby, the placenta, and the amniotic fluid.
Seismic changes are coming to the fight over abortion! With the US Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade, each state will determine the legal status of abortion. And one of the toughest battles the states will fight is over chemical abortion.
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There are currently two forms of chemical abortion. One is called the Morning After Pill and the other is called the Abortion Pill (or RU486). For the Morning After Pill to work, the woman has to take the drug within 72 hours after intercourse. The pill prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.
known as the “70 mornings after pill.” A pregnant woman can take the Abortion Pill up to 70 days (yes, 10 weeks) after conception. If taken within this time period, the Abortion Pill will kill the baby in 98% of the cases.
The Future of the Abortion Battle
The use of the Abortion Pill can be a miserable experience
The Abortion Pill, on the other hand, should really be
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for the mother. The normal and expected side effects will be bleeding, cramping, and pain. Possible unexpected side effects include pelvic pain, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, dizziness, tired feeling, weakness, back pain, and allergic reactions. These can include closing of the throat and swelling of the lips, tongue, or face.
Because RU486 carries life-threatening and healthendangering risks, the Food and Drug Administration has kept it in a drug safety program called Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS). This means the Abortion Pill is supposed to be taken under a doctor’s supervision. But that doesn’t always happen. In many states, a prescription for the pill is available via a telemedicine visit and then
mail ordered to the home of the patient. And it is readily available at many colleges’ health centers where doctors are not usually present.
Then there’s the possibility of severe side effects. These include failure to end the pregnancy, infection, blood clots in the uterus, undetected ectopic pregnancy, very heavy bleeding, severe hemorrhage, and even death. More than 1 in 100 require hospitalization.
featuring luxurious high-end prizes, fabulous food and drinks, and lots of fun with fellow Care Center friends
It is also why we’ll continue to see a huge increase in the number of chemical abortions. Prior to the Covid outbreak, the number of abortions performed in the United States via the abortion pill was 39%. Two years later, the percentage of abortions performed chemically has risen from 39% to 54%. This number will continue to rise, as the abortion industry is pushing hard for RU486 to be available
AKINDONE-OF-A-EVENT
Then, during Covid, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the FDA to demand a temporary suspension of the REMS. The stated goal was to keep women safe during the pandemic. But the abortion industry has made it clear that its long-term strategy is to remove REMS permanently and make abortions “self-managed” and unrestricted. In fact, chemical abortion is the primary means the abortion industry will use to undermine restrictive state laws.
over the counter like the Morning After Pill is. This will likely happen under the Biden Administration.
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Clearly, chemical abortions highlight the shift in the abortion battle now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. We must continue to fight for the life of every baby. At the same time, we must remember that this isn’t just a political and legal battle. This is also a spiritual battle. We must continue to fight this battle on our knees and with our mouths – speaking truth to the women who consider abortion a viable form of birth control. The baby in their womb isn’t a blob of tissue, but a human who bears the image of God.
As we fight to save the lives of babies, let us also share the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who feel hopeless. In Him is our only hope.
throughlocalforlocalIfeffectwhoandofcountry.ministryAbortion4,000500theiftheDatacanItwomenprogesterone.restoresavethewithinInButWithoutproductionRU486,WhenOB/GYNhormonebattleOneChemicalReverseAbortions!ofthebiggestweaponswehaveintheagainstchemicalabortionsisasimplethat’salreadylegalanduseddailyinofficesaroundthecountry.awomantakestheAbortionPillthedrugcausesthemothertoceaseofthehormoneprogesterone.progesterone,thebabycan’tsurvive.thedrugdoesn’tkillthebabyimmediately.fact,iftheprogesteronesupplyisrestored72hours,itispossibletoreversedevastatingeffectsofthedrugandthebaby’slife.AllwehavetodotothesupplyisgivethemomtabletsofOB/GYNsgiveprogesteronetopronetomiscarriageonadailybasis.savesbabieseveryday.And,praiseGod,itstopchemicalabortions.showsthatwecansuccessfullyreverseeffectoftheabortionpill70%ofthetimeweinitiatetheantidotewithin72hoursofmomtakingthepill.Anetworkofoverdoctorshassavedthelivesofalmostbabiestodate.pillreversalisagrowingareaofforpregnancycentersaroundtheThesecentersareonthecuttingedgeeducatingthepublicabouttheabortionpillalsoconnectingpatientswithphysicianshavetheexpertisetosafelyreversetheoftheabortionpill.youhavetakenRU486,pleasecontactyourpregnancycenterorcall(855)209-4848help.Youcansaveyourbaby!Andyourpregnancycentercanhelpyouwalkthisdecision!
We Can
• It is where we go to be encouraged and mentored in the teachings of Christ
Our Champion Churches Initiative is a program to invite churches to join us on our mission that God has called us to, which is to protect life. The church is such an important part of creating a culture of life for many reasons.
WeChrist.are
many parts, but all its parts form one body, so it is with
God’s word says that we (the church) are the body of Christ (1st Corinthians 12:12-14) Just as a body, though one, has
calling on all the different parts of the body of Christ to act according to what they feel God is leading them to do to protect life. The mission of North Dakota
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• It is where we learn all about God, the creator of Life
• It is where we go to grow in the Word of God
• It is where we go to fellowship and be a part of the Church
• It is where those in need can seek refuge and rest
Right to Life is to educate, legislate, and advocate on life issues. We want to educate and empower churches regarding how to go out into their communities and advocate for life. Christians are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). We are called to bring light into dark places so that people can see the truth and be free from the darkness.
North Dakota Champion Churches Initiative
• It is where we learn to serve others; the churches are a huge pillar of our communities
Announcements After Abortion You are not alone. Beginning October 3rd For private tanya@dakotahope.orgregistrationNov.18&19 Dinner Auction Vendor Show Family Festive Activities Live Music North Dakota State Fair Event Center Sept. 19 - Minot Sept. 20 - Stanley Featuring - Ryan Dobson Register at dakotahope.org/events/
• Suicide prevention
• Taking care of our veterans
• Helping at a pregnancy center
Advocacy:
• Sidewalk advocating
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We want to help the churches be bold and courageous, confident to go out into their communities, and active in sharing the truth with all whom they encounter. To do that, we first need to educate them on life issues. The more you know, and the more resources you have at your disposal, the more your confidence grows. That is the goal of our education events and the resources we share—to help bring knowledge and confidence in the mission to protect life.
Once a person or persons have been educated, it is much easier for them to advocate for what they know—in this case, life. This can be done by the church hosting events, starting small groups where they hold educational sessions on life issues, and going out into their communities and having conversations with others who may not share the same view that they do on life. Advocacy is also creating awareness of issues that people may not know about.
There are many ways to help create a culture of life, so many different areas to get involved with.
• Fighting against futile care
• Foster care and or adoption
• Taking care of our elderly and disabled
• Fighting against human trafficking
Education:
Legislation:
Serving:
Life wants to come along side you and help set you up for Tosuccess.dothis, it will take our time, talents, treasures, and prayers to make it successful. However, we know that by God’s Grace and working together, we will have victory in the protection of life.
“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; but Jesus came so that we may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). We choose Life!
Legislation can be quite intimidating to those who are not familiar with the process, so much so that they choose not to get involved because it is so overwhelming to them. North Dakota Right to Life wants to help guide you through the process of how to get in touch with your local, state, and national representatives; how to be educated on legislative bills; how to follow them; and how to be more involved in the process.
Wherever you are being called to do, North Dakota Right to
Sir Edmund Hillary and William Wilberforce: the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first person to successfully pass legislation to abolish the African slave trade.
Roe, our Mount Everest, was not overturned by one person. Roe was overturned because of the millions of people in the fine print moving in faith and humbleness, providing unending support in a multitude of ways, and never giving up on the person leading.
People of the Fine Print
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My point in all of the above is that history pushes one person to the top. But that person doesn’t get there by themselves – there are literally hundreds of people in the fine print working quietly behind the scenes.
Like Sir Edmund Hillary and William Wilberforce, NDRL’s successes are not attributed to just one event or one person. Behind the board members of NDRL, the chapter Presidents, and staff are husbands, wives, children, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and friends
Then Pastor Giglio said two more names and asked if people had ever heard of them.
A few years ago, I was listening to a sermon series called ‘People of the Fine Print’ from Passion City Church. Pastor Louie Giglio started out by asking the audience if they recognized the names of people from various times in history. He named some very famous people and of course a majority of the audience gave some type of affirmative response. Two names associated with two world changing moments stuck out to me.
Thomas Clarkson was a 19-year-old man who wrote an essay for a Latin contest in 1779 titled, “Is the Slave Trade Lawful?” His essay won and set into motion the eventual abolishment of the African slave trade. His essay was translated into English in 1785 and caught the attention of an English Parliamentarian named William Wilberforce. In 1787 Wilberforce established the Abolition of the African Slave Trade Committee which drafted the first piece of anti-slave trade legislation in 1791 in England. It was soundly defeated. But, in 1807 Wilberforce introduced the Slave Trade Act, which passed and abolished the African slave trade in England.
final assent to the summit of Mount Everest on May 28, 1953 at 11:30 am. He and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first two people to set foot on the highest place on Earth. Norgay never left Sir Edmund Hillary’s side. He guided him, provided wisdom and knowledge, cheered him on, and even saved his life when Hillary slipped and fell into a crevasse. But we don’t hear his name. We also are never told about the 400 support people, the 362 porters, and the 20 other sherpas that made up the team of people that put Sir Edmund Hillary on the top of Mount Everest, forever solidifying his name in history.
Tenzing Norgay was the Sherpa that supported Sir Edmund Hillary during the entire expedition and the
Tenzing Norgay and Thomas Clarkson. Silence followed. No one had heard of these two individuals.
President Lancer LaBar, White Earth, ND
Edgeley Right to Life
keeping home and family life moving. There are hundreds of members in the chapters volunteering their time and talents to spread the truth about life to change our culture, there are thousands of people donating treasures and gifts to defend life in the legislature and the arena of public policy, and there are tens of thousands who are praying over the mission of life and defeating death every single day in our state. The only reason North Dakota Right to Life and the culture of life in North Dakota is able to do what it does is because of all of the people in the fine print. Because of you and your commitment to saying “Yes.”
President Gary Artz Phone: 701-235-7969
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Email: badlandsrighttolife@gmail.com
President Virginia Dolajak Phone: 701-258-5379
President Janice Moch Phone: 701-320-3125
Bottineau County Area Right to Life
Heartland Right to Life
Sierra Heitkamp, Barney, ND Sowmya Karumanchi, Bismarck, ND
1st Vice President Sandra Sanford – Bismarck, ND
President Robin Johnson Phone: 701-290-6651
Badlands Chapter
President Dr. Steve Kourajian Phone: 701-341-1044
Harvey Right to Life
Consultants
President Kathy McGhan Phone: 701-871-7488
Griggs County Right to Life
Email: momofsixls@yahoo.com
Don’t miss an opportunity to be a “Person in the Fine Print” for NDRL. If you’re not a member already, we’d be honored to have you join us today. If you’re already a member, thank you for being a person in the fine print. Please consider renewing your membership and keep fighting for life. Follow this link for membership opportunities.
www.ndrl.org/membership
Email: djrjohnson@hotmail.com
President McKenzie McCoy Phone: 701-269-8781
Email: janmoch54@hotmail.com
Email: drkourajian@hotmail.com
Email: gpedro55@msn.com
President Sharon Heinz Email: danheinz@mlgc.com
Email: ndfreshair2@yahoo.com
President Barbara Vetter Phone: 701-776-6348
Ramsey County Area Right to Life President Lynne Webster Phone: 701-662-8329
Tri-County Right to Life President Lancer LaBar Phone: 701-313-0080
Email: labarlancer72@gmail.com Valley City Right to Life President Vicki Jackson Email: dakota.10@live.com
President Diane Brost Phone: 701-590-2386
2nd Vice President John Heinen – Dickinson
McKenzie County Right to Life
New Salem/Almont Right to Life President Jim Sailer Email: jdsailer77@gmail.com
Bismarck/Mandan Chapter
Minot Right to Life President Beverly Cushing Phone: 701-721-2788 Email: cushing.bev@gmail.com
Pembina County Right to Life President Judy Beaudrie Phone: 701-265-4138
Walsh County Pro-Life President James Kerian Phone: 701-352-0480 Email: james.kerian@gmail.com
Nelson County Right to Life President Jennifer Parker Phone: 701-262-4437 Email: jennifer@gleasondesign.net
Traill County Right to Life President Rita Mootz Phone: 701-430-1677 Email: mootzfamily@rrv.net
Fargo Right to Life
Board of Directors & Executive Committee
Glen Ullin Right to Life
Treasurer Joy Singh – Bismarck, ND State Office Staff Executive Director McKenzie McCoy, Watford City, ND Assistant Executive Director Cionda Holter, Williston, ND
