November 4, 2014
We are, of course, very disappointed with the results of the balloting tonight, but we are not deterred or dissuaded from the cause of life, nor will we give up the fight. In fact, despite the outcome of Measure 1 we won a great victory for life during this campaign. First, the abortion industry was forced to completely distance themselves from their own agenda of abortion on demand, and run a totally dishonest campaign on non-issues such as end of life care and IVF procedures. By misleading North Dakotans about alleged impacts on these other issues, Planned Parenthood and their front group NDAM1 showed that their position on abortion expansion is not defensible. Moreover, after suffering a devastating court loss last week when the North Dakota Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that imposed a virtually unlimited right to abortion, our opponents were forced to resort to claiming that ‘we have the protections under that law that do protect the abortion laws on the books,’ a central theme of our campaign.
Our reason for advocating for Measure 1 was to overturn the lower court ruling granting a virtually unlimited right to abortion, and to protect the common sense laws on the books such as informed consent, parental notification and ensuring only licensed physicians with hospital admitting privileges can perform abortions. Despite the vote, the court ruling was overturned. That decision will help protect our existing laws. Moreover, we had a powerful conversation with North Dakotans that proves that our strong position for life is overwhelmingly supported by our fellow citizens, so much so that the abortion industry could hardly bring themselves to even talk about abortion. This conversation will continue in North Dakota and we look forward to the day when the abortion industry leaves our state because they are not wanted here.
We will study the Supreme Court’s ruling last week and consider whether it is likely that some future judge might attempt to invent a right to abortion on demand, as occurred last year and which the Supreme Court reversed. Having experienced the utterly false campaign of misinformation waged by Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, we are in a much better position to craft new language for a future constitutional amendment that puts to rest all of the side issues relied upon by our opponents to mislead North Dakotans and defeat Measure 1. So we will weigh all our options going forward.
We are eternally grateful to our many supporters, donors and volunteers for their tremendous sacrifice and efforts to pass Measure 1. We also wish to thank our small but dedicated campaign staff who has worked tirelessly for the past six months under difficult conditions. We thank all the current and former elected officials who supported us, as well as the 84 legislators of both parties who put Measure 1 on the ballot. Their service in the cause of life will not be forgotten.
Finally, even though we did not prevail at the ballot this time, we give thanks to God who is the author of life. Prayer groups all over the state and country, as well as across the globe, have stormed the gates of heaven on our behalf, and we are grateful for their efforts. We did not win a political battle tonight, but we have captured a great deal of ground as a result of the campaign, and we are well-positioned to win the war for life in North Dakota in the future.
Janne Myrdal
State Director
CWA of North Dakota