North Dakota Citizens to Vote on Defining Personhood in State Constitution

Bismarck, ND – Last week the North Dakota legislature became the first state to pass a personhood amendment: “The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.” The decision to amend the state’s Constitution will go before North Dakota voters in November 2014.

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“Liberty Counsel applauds the North Dakota legislature for passing the Personhood Amendment,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. Liberty Counsel partners with Personhood USA to extend the full protection of the law to all human beings from the moment of conception. The constitutional amendment follows the passage of two other pro-life bills earlier this month banning abortion based on genetic defects and after a heartbeat is detected. The amendment passed by the North Dakota legislature does not explicitly ban abortion, but it clearly recognizes that life begins at conception. This puts a roadblock in the way of abortionists who try to call an unborn child just a “fetus” or “mass of tissue,” instead of a human life. “We are pleased to partner with Personhood North Dakota to advance legal protections for every human being. It is undisputed medical science that human life begins at the moment of conception,” said Staver. “The right to life is the right of all rights. Without the right to life, all other rights are meaningless. Abortion not only destroys a human life but also demeans women and destroys families. I believe that a culture of life will soon be restored in America. The days of Roe v. Wade are numbered,” Staver concluded. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.