North Dakota

Former abortion provider sues North Dakota over heartbeat law

Published

1 year ago

June 12, 2023

Former abortion provider sues North Dakota over heartbeat law

A clinic that was once North Dakota’s only abortion provider has challenged a state law banning virtually all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
The lawsuit, filed by lawyers representing the Red River Women’s Clinic, claims that the legal window provided for rape and incest exceptions is too narrow.
In addition to pregnancies being difficult to detect “within such a narrow time frame,” Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Meetra Mehdizadeh claimed the law is too vague in outlining “when people are actually allowed to provide an abortion under the exceptions.”

A former North Dakota abortion provider challenged one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws Monday, arguing the law “flagrantly violates” a court ruling supporting the right of patients in the state to obtain the procedure to preserve their life or health.

The lawsuit initially filed last year by what was the conservative state’s sole abortion provider seeks to block a law recently approved by the Republican-led Legislature and signed by Gov. Doug Burgum. The law outlaws all abortions except in cases where women could face death or a “serious health risk” or pregnancies caused by rape and incest, but only in the first six weeks, when many women often don’t know they are pregnant.

It seems unlikely that a patient who is pregnant due to rape or incest could get an abortion “within such a narrow time frame” as six weeks, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Meetra Mehdizadeh told The Associated Press.

NORTH DAKOTA LAWMAKERS PASS NEAR-TOTAL ABORTION BAN WITH VETO-PROOF MAJORITIES

Conservative states have been working to restrict abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturning the constitutional right to an abortion. Other states, such as neighboring Minnesota, have moved to protect abortion access.

North Dakota had a so-called trigger ban, passed in 2007, to outlaw virtually all abortions if the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned. The Red River Women’s Clinic last year challenged the now-repealed trigger ban as unconstitutional, and on Monday, attorneys for the clinic and several physicians throughout North Dakota filed an amended complaint targeting the new law. The clinic moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Bill sponsors pitched the changes as clearing up language in the state’s overlapping abortion laws, including the trigger ban and a 2013 law that sought to ban abortions as soon as cardiac activity is detected.

A challenge to North Dakota’s newest abortion law alleges the six-week window it grants for the procedure to legally be performed in cases of rape and incest is too narrow. (Fox News)

The new law includes a felony penalty for those who perform an abortion. The penalty excludes patients who undergo the procedure.

The law allows for treatment of ectopic and molar pregnancies, both nonviable complications.

The amended complaint says the new law “prevents pregnant people from accessing necessary, time-sensitive healthcare and threatens their lives, health, and fertility.” The complaint says the law also “flagrantly violates” what the state Supreme Court recently held as “a fundamental right to obtain an abortion to preserve (a patient’s) life or her health.”

Mehdizadeh said it is still “pretty confusing” what the law allows, such as “when people are actually allowed to provide an abortion under the exceptions.”

The new law’s death and health risk provisions are narrow, she said. They don’t include mental health conditions, which Mehdizadeh said can be caused or exacerbated by pregnancy and are “one of the most common causes of pregnancy-related death.”

A state district court judge last year had temporarily blocked the trigger law and the court in March upheld the decision before the law was repealed.

DARK HORSE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE ‘UNDAUNTED’ AS HE LAUNCHES 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Chief Justice Jon Jensen wrote in the majority opinion, “The North Dakota Constitution explicitly provides all citizens of North Dakota the right of enjoying and defending life and pursuing and obtaining safety. These rights implicitly include the right to obtain an abortion to preserve the woman’s life or health.”

The Legislature in response to the ruling added the “serious health risk” and molar pregnancy provisions to the bill, and put all of its language into a new chapter of state law. A molar pregnancy is when a tumor forms in the uterus.

Mehdizadeh said placing the law into a new section of code “is essentially an attempt to replace and repackage the trigger ban in defiance of the state’s high court and without any regard to the dangerous consequences to people’s health and lives.”

Burgum, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, has said the new law “clarifies and refines existing state law … and reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state.”

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The amended complaint also adds several physicians licensed in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine as plaintiffs, because “this ban has vague, confusing, and non-medical language that has left providers without any clarity over when they can provide abortion care, and threatens them with severe punishment if they do,” according Mehdizadeh.

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North Dakota

Color of Hockey: Rangers prospect Emery 'comfortable' heading to North Dakota | NHL.com

Published

6 hours ago

July 22, 2024

Press Room

Color of Hockey: Rangers prospect Emery 'comfortable' heading to North Dakota | NHL.com

Murphy played quarterback for North Dakota from 1960-62 and was its coach from 1978-79. He left a lasting impression on Eric Emery, especially after Cal Fullerton went 12-0 in 1984. Murphy died Oct. 29, 2011.

“I guess I kind of transported into EJ, the sense of respect I have for Gene Murphy and what he did for us at Cal Fullerton,” said the elder Emery, who went on to become a linebacker for the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League from 1985-87.

“He brought us together and he actually told us that we were going to be champions because he saw the capability in us. I just had to have him (EJ) go look at North Dakota because Gene came from there and a lot of his coaches that he brought with him came from there and they were such good guys. So I figured North Dakota must have something going on.”

There’s also a North Dakota connection between the younger Emery and NTDP coach Nick Fohr, who was born and raised in Grand Forks and regularly attended UND games with his father Roger, who was an off-ice official right up until when he died of cancer in January 2023.

“Oh yeah, we talked about it, for sure,” Fohr said. “Pretty cool place for me and it’s pretty cool to have somebody like EJ interested in that place.

“When people think of an EJ Emery, a Black kid that that’s looking to play hockey, rarely are they going to place him in North Dakota, right? We had some really good conversations about the city, the town and what it’s like. From talking to EJ and his family, they (UND) did a really, really, really good job in the recruiting process in making him feel comfortable, letting him see what it’s like and meeting some football players and other people. It just felt like home to him is how I took it.”

North Dakota hockey coach Brad Berry said Emery had been on the team’s radar since he played for Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford, British Columbia, in 2021-22.

“When we got to the recruiting process, he got to know us, we got to know him and it felt comfortable,” Berry said. “When we recruit players, we have a criteria of what we want in a player: It doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are. It matters what you are as a person, and he checked every box that we had.”

Emery (6-foot-3, 183 pounds) is UND’s first Black player since Akil Adams, a defenseman who appeared in 18 games from 1992-94.

North Dakota has had diverse rosters since. Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, a United States-born player who is Indigenous, played there from 2005-08. Center Jordan Kawaguchi, a Canada-born player of Japanese ancestry, played for UND from 2017-21 and was team captain in his final season.

Emery’s selection by the Rangers and commitment to North Dakota delighted Adams, who played in the minor leagues and Germany after he left the university.

“I’m still a North Dakota guy through and through,” said Adams, who lives in Detroit. “He’s definitely in the right place and I’m happy to see that there’s actually somebody else there. I just think it probably speaks volumes about the kind of player he is.”

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North Dakota

Huskers add top recruit in North Dakota to 2025 class

Published

14 hours ago

July 21, 2024

Press Room

Huskers add top recruit in North Dakota to 2025 class

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football staff got commitment No. 17 in the 2025 class on Sunday, adding four-star defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak.

The highly sought-after recruit from West Fargo, North Dakota, is the No. 1 recruit in his state and chose Nebraska over Oklahoma, Kansas State and Wisconsin.

Pietrzak checks in at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds and has been on Rhule’s radar since he was hired at Nebraska.

He will join two other defensive linemen in the class of 2025: Omaha North’s Tyson Terry and Malcolm Simpson from Texas.

Pietrzak is the second-highest rated recruit for Nebraska in this year’s class so far behind Simpson.

COMMITED‼️@HuskerFootball @CoachMattRhule @Coach_Knighton @HuskerCoachTW
#GBR pic.twitter.com/SAXF1FOQ2J
— Kade Pietrzak (@KadePietrzak) July 21, 2024

Categories: Husker Sports, Sports

Tags: College Football, football, Husker football, Huskers, kade pietrzak, kansas state, malcolm simpson, matt rhule, Nebraska, Nebraska football, North Dakota, oklahmoa, omaha north, Texas, tyson terry, west fargo, Wisconsin

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North Dakota

North Dakota Superintendent Helping Schools Develop AI Guidelines

Published

21 hours ago

July 21, 2024

Press Room

North Dakota Superintendent Helping Schools Develop AI Guidelines

North Dakota School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler announced new state guidance on artificial intelligence (AI) designed to assist local schools in developing their own AI policies and to help teachers and administrators work more efficiently.

A group of educators from North Dakota schools, the NDDPI, the Department of Career and Technical Education, and state information technology agencies created this guidance, which is available on the Department of Public Instruction’s website.

Baesler emphasized that implementing AI, like any instructional tool, requires careful planning and alignment with educational priorities, goals, and values.

She stressed that humans should always control AI usage and review its output for errors, following a Human-Technology-Human process. “We must emphasize keeping the main thing the main thing, and that is to prepare our young learners for their next challenges and goals,” Baesler said.

Steve Snow and Kelsie Seiler from the NDDPI Office of School Approval and Opportunity highlighted that the guidance was drawn from various state education agencies and technology websites, such as Code.org and TeachAI.org, with the process taking about eight months.

“We had a team that looked at guidance from other states, and we pulled pieces from different places and actually built guidance tailored for North Dakota students,” Snow said.

Seiler explained that AI excels at data analysis, predictive analytics, and automating repetitive tasks but lacks emotional intelligence, interdisciplinary research, and problem-solving abilities.

Snow added that AI can help teachers design lesson plans aligned with North Dakota’s academic content standards quickly and adjust them for students who need more support. AI can also simplify the development of personalized learning plans for students.

“You have so many resources (teachers) can use that are going to make your life so much easier,” Snow said. “I want the teachers, administration, and staff to get comfortable with using (AI), so they’re a little more comfortable when they talk to kids about it.”

Seiler noted that the NDDPI guidance is not a “how-to” manual for using AI but offers general suggestions on developing local policies to leverage AI effectively.

“Our guidance is meant to provide some tools to the school administration and say, ‘Here are some things to think about when you implement your own AI guidance,’” Snow said.

“For instance, do you have the infrastructure to support (AI)? Do you have a professional development plan so your teachers can understand it? Do you have governance in place that says what AI can and can’t be used for?”