Paul Maloney: “Ben Hanson Stands Against the Innocent”

Ben Hanson is running for the Dem-NPL nomination for Congress. On his website, he says we must help “vulnerable North Dakotans”. Yet, he says nothing about helping some of the most vulnerable of all – the unborn. In fact, during his one term in the the ND State House, he voted against common sense protections for the vulnerable no less than four times!

During the 2013 legislative session, I served as the Executive Director of North Dakota Right to Life. Four pro-life bills came before the legislature that session. Senate Bill 2368 “Pain-Capable Child Protection” protects unborn babies at 20 weeks of gestation, because children at that age are unquestionably capable of feeling pain. It passed, but Ben voted against it.

[mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”300″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#000000″]One might argue that Ben’s vote didn’t matter in 2013. But now Ben Hanson is running to be North Dakota’s lone Congressman. His vote will matter.[/mks_pullquote]

House Bill 1456, also known as the “Heartbeat Bill”, protects all human life with a detectable heartbeat – typically between 5 1/2 and 7 weeks gestational age. The Legislature rightly determined that if we declare death in an ambulance when a heart stops, then we should also do the same for innocent babies. It passed, but Ben disagreed, and voted against it.

The passing of Senate Bill 2305 requires doctors practicing abortion in North Dakota to maintain admitting privileges at a local hospital. This is reasonable in case an emergency complication occurs during an abortion procedure. Another common sense bill that passed, with Ben voting against it.

Finally, House Bill 1305 prohibits abortion based upon sex selection or genetic abnormalities. Once again, it passed, but Ben voted against this one too. Ben likes to claim that he’s opposed to discriminating against others based upon their sex, gender or other factors, yet he would open the doors to harm those who may be born with abnormalities beyond their control or even simply their biological sex? These and many other reasons are why voters in his own district threw him out in 2016 after just one four year term.

Luckily, Ben Hanson was on the fringe minority in the legislature when voted against these bills. They each passed and were signed into law despite his best efforts. One might argue that Ben’s vote didn’t matter in 2013. But now Ben Hanson is running to be North Dakota’s lone Congressman. His vote will matter. The person we vote to send to Washington DC should reflect where we stand as North Dakotans. As a lifelong defender of the innocent and vulnerable of society, I can assure you, Ben Hanson is not that person.