Statement on Criminalization of Women Who Have Abortions

Recent public policy discussions in North Dakota have focused on the criminalization of women who have abortions. This is a difficult issue, with principled opinions on both sides of the topic. However, North Dakota Family Alliance does not support measures that seek to criminalize or punish these women, and we oppose including such penalties in legislation.

As a Christian organization, NDFA believes in protecting life at all stages. We also believe that the mother is often the abortion’s second victim. Similar to women who are victims of human trafficking, we believe the focus should be on punishing the source of the criminal activity, in this case the abortionists who profit from killing innocent children by providing abortion drugs, and
not the women who suffer because of it.

From a biblical standpoint, the issue is about balancing justice with mercy. Numerous biblical texts clearly point to situations when it is more important to side with mercy over justice (Zechariah 7:9, Matthew 7:2, James 2:8, John 8:3-11). As Christians in America, we seek to be salt and light in a fallen world. It is not mother against child, but Christian values against our country’s abortion complex.

We know that abortion has deep and lasting negative effects on a woman's physical, psychological, and spiritual health. A frightened, pregnant woman needs help, not the threat of criminal prosecution, and as Christians, we can help. In a study published by BioMed Central, over 70% of post-abortive women said they had an abortion because of financial or partner-related reasons. To help, we propose considering ways to continue supporting women with additional adoption incentives, more daycare options, additional assistance for women in abusive situations, and similar constructive solutions.

From a political perspective, this type of legislation would be fraught with significant public policy and enforcement problems. It does not account for coercion of the mother, nor does it differentiate between chemical abortifacients and spontaneous miscarriages. There are critical HIPAA concerns, statute of limitations questions, and the burden of proving intent for the mother and “co-conspirators”. We would be putting law enforcement into an untenable situation and would end up funding the inevitable court cases arising from such short-sighted legislation.

As we’ve seen over the past 50 years, the fight for human life in our country is a marathon, not a sprint. The solution is not short-term public policy that provides additional ammunition for the other side to continue falsely asserting that Christians hate women who have abortions. Instead, the pro-life movement should be committed to saving the life of the child and showing the love of Christ to these women needing our grace and mercy.

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