N.D. Senate Approves Bill To Prohibit Embryo Destruction, Expand Medicaid Abortion Coverage
February 20, 2013 — The North Dakota Senate on Monday voted 24-23 to pass a bill (SB 2303) that would prohibit the destruction of embryos and expand Medicaid coverage for abortions, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The bill now moves to the House.
The measure would prohibit the intentional destruction of embryos and regulate in-vitro fertilization. Under the bill, a human being is defined as "an individual member of the species homo sapiens at every stage of development."
The bill also would instruct the state to expand Medicaid coverage to all pregnant women, which could cost taxpayers nearly $9 million, according to budget analysts.
The bill does not include an exemption for cases of rape or incest (MacPherson, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/18).
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Repro Health Watch — an exciting new edition of the Women’s Health Policy Report — compiles and distributes media coverage of proposed and enacted state laws and ballot initiatives affecting women's access to comprehensive reproductive health care, as well as litigation in response to those provisions.
