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February 13, 2003
By DEENA WINTER, Bismarck Tribune
The Bismarck bishop, the North Dakota Catholic Conference and two anti-abortion groups found themselves aligned with abortion rights advocates Wednesday as they all opposed a bill that would make abortion illegal in North Dakota.
House Bill 1242 would make it a class AA felony to kill a "preborn child." However, several anti-abortion groups opposed the bill because it would have applied to women who have abortions, not just physicians who perform them.
The anti-abortion North Dakota Right to Life, North Dakota Family Alliance, Catholic Conference and other "pro-life" individuals came out against the bill, saying women who have abortions are "abortion's second victim" and should be treated with compassion, rather than punishment.
It was an uneasy alliance, and at one point during his testimony, Christopher Dodson of the Catholic Conference turned to an employee of a Fargo abortion clinic and said, "We're going to put you out of business, and I mean that."
Dodson said he was "very uncomfortable" to be on the same side as abortion rights advocates, and questioned whether the bill was designed to "force us to look like we're on the same side."
The bishop of the Bismarck Catholic Diocese, Paul Zipfel, testified against the bill, saying although the Catholic church opposes abortion and would like to see the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision overturned, the bishops oppose laws that criminalize women who abort their pregnancies.
"Our experiences as counselors, spiritual advisers and caregivers to women who have had abortions tell us that the decision to have an abortion is often the result of intense pressure, coercion by others and a fear-driven attempt at self-preservation -- all in a culture of lies about the choices before her and a society that too often leaves her alone with her choice," Zipfel said. "Criminalizing her only compounds her victimization."
The hearing on the bill filled the Legislature's largest meeting room, and a parade of people testified in support of the bill, using phrases like "abortion holocaust," warning against endorsing sin and facing God's judgment, and, in one case, passing around a photo of a fetus for committee members to look at.
Although the testimony occasionally strayed -- with one man telling the committee how he repeatedly kicked his mother while he was a fetus in her womb because he didn't like the sound of a manual typewriter -- much of the testimony focused on the Catholics' stand on the legislation. One Fargo man accused the church of hypocrisy.
"They're scared of the collection box, that's the reality of it," he said.
But Zipfel gave a firm response, his voice rising with fervency as he said bishops still consider abortion a "grave moral wrong," but he said not every moral wrong demands a penalty in civil law. He admonished people to be mindful of the biblical story in which Jesus comes to the defense of a woman accused of adultery: He refused to cast stones at her, saying "Neither do I condemn you."
Dodson said the bishops' stand is not new; since 1988 bishops have opposed laws that criminalize women who have abortions, consistent with Pope John Paul II's guidance.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that heard the bill, Rep. Duane DeKrey, R-Pettibone, said it felt like a Catholic family feud, rather than a legislative hearing.
"I was uncomfortable, I really was, to sit down and listen to the Catholics go at each other," DeKrey said. A Virginia representative of the American Life League went into great detail in an attempt to prove the bishop and Catholic Conference's stand violated church teaching. DeKrey said many committee members believed "he was really there to make the Catholic bishops look bad."
Another mini-scandal erupted over the fact that the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Sally Sandvig, D-Fargo, did not show up for the hearing. The bill sponsors are normally the first to testify on bills, but Sandvig said she was in another committee hearing and wasn't told the bill was being heard. But she said she had only planned to introduce the constituent that she introduced the bill for, and then leave.
DeKrey said Sandvig was under a lot of pressure from many sides to "pull the bill," because it was such an "ugly" bill and was unconstitutional, and would not have even made an exception for doctors who perform abortions to save the life of a mother.
Later on Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee voted 11-2 to give the bill a "do not pass" recommendation. The bill now goes before the full House.
(Reach reporter Deena Winter at deenawinter@ndonline.com.)
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