Photo via Huffington Post.

I have called the state of North Dakota home for a little over two years, whereas a majority of the state’s residents have been born and raised here. I have a two-year-old son, and I would like to think of him being raised in a state that would honor the standards set forth in the United States’ Constitution, which will not apply to North Dakota citizens if the public passes Measure 1.

On Facebook, the “North Dakotans Against Measure 1” page at the first draft of this article had 3,065 likes with the average age group being 25-34 years old. The opposing opinion page, “Yes on Measure 1,” had  526 likes with the average age group as 18-24 years old (which has remained the same during the last 12 hours, while the vote no page has gained 45 new likes).

This measure affects mostly women who are in the stage of their life when they may be most concerned with their reproductive rights and responsibilities; it is categorized as an “anti-abortion” measure, but it is way more than that. If this measure gets approved, women will no longer have the right to govern their body as their own; the state government will interfere with and essentially manage their person.

Personhood USA’s website states the following about Measure 1: “The North Dakotan Human Life Amendment will simply ensure that the inalienable right that is already mentioned in the state constitution is not denied to any human being.”

The supporters of Measure 1 are only seeing the shiny surface where the measure states itself as anti-abortion and fighting for human rights by not denying the public “the inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development must be recognized and protected” (this includes the elderly and disabled as well).

But, when you scratch the surface of this amendment, it becomes weathered and ugly as its core is exposed. You should not take it at face value; if you do, you are making an uneducated decision.

The North Dakotans against Measure 1 website believes the proposed amendment, “… is poorly written and the unclear language leaves it open to interpretation — leading to more government intrusion into our personal lives. Measure 1 may seem harmless, but it is an extreme and dangerous law. It would have serious unintended consequences if passed … Government should not be interfering in our personal decisions.”

The broadness of this amendment is unending as it pertains to our personal liberties. The government will be the determining factor in our life decisions and not us or our families. As summarized by the North Dakota Coalition for Privacy in Healthcare, here are the main ways this measure will negatively impact our lives and, especially, female rights:

“This law could make it difficult for doctors to help women with life-threatening ectopic pregnancies and incomplete miscarriages because they may be compelled to treat embryos and women equally.  As a result, women’s lives and health will be at risk.”

“Some forms of birth control could be banned, causing more unintended pregnancies.  Already, 40% of pregnancies are unintended.”  This will naturally lead to an increase in unplanned pregnancies, and dependencies on state welfare, thus raising taxes and lowering the standard of living happily within the state since most people do not favor heightened taxes as a result of a political and religious battle.

And these are only some of the reasons that the law could negatively affect North Dakota, not to mention the fact that this favors one religion over another. The people of the Jewish faith believe that life begins at birth, thus this law would undermine their beliefs in favor of supporting those of the Christian majority. Democracy in America is meant to protect the minorities from laws that would subject them to beliefs that are not of a secular nature.

This is a country-wide landmark voting event. If this amendment passes, North Dakota would be the first state to define life as officially beginning upon conception. Measure 1 will be on the ballot for general election voting next week on Tuesday, Nov. 4. All those in opposition to this measure, I urge you to spend some time standing in line and checking a few boxes to get this measure denied.

If you are still in favor of it after reading this article, please do more research until you are not.  Educate yourself on what rights it will take away from families and females.

The location for UND members to vote is the Gorecki Alumni Center where the poll will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; just bring your ND state issued driver’s license with current ND address.

Vote No on Measure 1.

Maggie Uptogn is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].