Just A Reminder: Support For North Dakota's Pro-Life Bills Strong And Bi-Partisan

The Huffington Post has an article up today about Rep. Kathy Hawken organizing a protest of Republican legislators against the anti-abortion bills passed already, and a couple that are still advancing.

“Hawken said that as a strong fiscal conservative, she is worried that the state will spend millions of dollars that could be put to better use defending these laws in court,” reports HuffPo. We can all have a long, hard laugh at the idea of Rep. Hawken being a fiscal conservative, but once the hilarity wears off it become clear that there is a media perception building around the idea that these pro-life bills are the result of some extremist legislators (Rep. Bette Grande and Senator Margaret Sitte are usually in the left’s crosshairs in that regard).

But that’s not the truth. In reality, these pro-life bills are a reflection of mainstream politics here in North Dakota, and the votes in the legislature prove it.

In the House, 26% of the Democrat caucus voted for both HB1305 (a ban on abortions for genetic selection) and HB1456 (a ban on abortions when a heartbeat is detected) with just one Democrat missing the vote.

In the Senate, 35% of the Democrat caucus voted for HB1305 and 21% voted for HB1456.

To be fair, the Democrats have a tiny presence in the chambers (just 23 in the House and 14 in the Senate), but even so significant portions of Democrat legislators voted for both of these bills that the left (including Republicans who are on the left like Rep. Hawken) is now condemning as extreme.

Which makes you wonder who is truly extreme. The strong, bi-partisan majority who voted to pass these bills or the tiny minority who are opposed?

We know which side the media is paying the most attention to.