House Members Hear Abortion Bill | Video

Jessica Roose | 1/30/2013

There are seven abortion related bills going through the legislature. On Tuesday, members of the Senate Judiciary committee heard testimony on four bills, and Wednesday afternoon, the House Human Services committee joined in on the debate.

“When does life begin?” That was the question being discussed in the House Human Services Committee.

"Over the last 40 years, advancements in medicine, in technology, have let us look into the womb at the miracle of life. We see and hear a beating heart," said Fargo Representative Bette Grande (R).

A heartbeat can often be detected by a vaginal ultrasound around six weeks. Once it`s detected by a doctor, supporters of House Bill 1456 say abortions should not be allowed to take place.

"A detectable human heartbeat in the early period of gestation proves to us all as we probably already know. That abortion silences a beating heart," said Janne Myrdal with Concerned Women of America.

Opponents say the bill goes too far. Tammi Kromenaker, the director of Red River Women`s Clinic in Fargo, the only abortion clinic in the state, says every woman has a different story for getting an abortion.

"A few weeks ago, we had a mother of five children who was advised by her physician to not have any more children after her last difficult birth. Her husband had a vasectomy so they thought they were safe from unintended pregnancy. His vasectomy failed and she became pregnant."

She says the woman who would not have otherwise had an abortion didn`t want to risk leaving her children without their mother. "These are real women we see each week at our clinic. They have real stories and real lives. They should have the right to decide for themselves if continuing a pregnancy is right in their circumstances."

But supporters say the unborn child also has rights and they to need to be protected.

The bill would leave an exception for cases where a mother’s life is at risk by continuing the pregnancy.

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