Question of the Week: Will Dalrymple Actually Take a Position on the Abortion Bills?

This past week in the legislature was not short of drama in the least, with the topic of abortion taking center stage both in the Capitol as well as on national news. Three Senate-sponsored pieces of pro-life legislation got through the people’s chamber, joining two House Bills passed by the Senate earlier in the second half of the session. If signed into law, North Dakota will have the toughest abortion laws in the country (granted, one bill — SCR 4009 — will have to be voted on by the electorate since it amends the state constitution).

What will probably be the most interesting part of this whole legislative process is whether Governor Jack Dalrymple will sign the bills into law, allow them to go into law without his signature, or veto some or all of them. I have my thoughts on which of these options will come to pass, but we are more interested in yours. I will say that, no matter what happens, the Governor may have to do something he has never been fond of — actually take a clear stand on a controversial issue. Unfortunately for him, there simply is no more room left under his desk to hide in. That, more than weighing the ramifications of the bills in question, is most likely why we are experiencing silence from the second floor of the Capitol.

So, that brings us to our SAB Question of the Week:

Will Governor Dalrymple veto some or all of the pro-life bills before him, and why? If he does not, will he simply allow the bills to go into law without his signature so he doesn’t have to take a clear stand, or will he actually sign the legislation?

Discuss…