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May 15, 2014

North Dakota Appeals Abortion Ruling; Louisiana Measure Could Shutter Clinics 
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North Dakota has appealed a federal court ruling that overturned the
state's anti-abortion law, the harshest in the country. The measure
banned abortion once a fetal or embryonic heartbeat can be detected,
which happens at about six weeks of pregnancy when many women do not
know they are pregnant. It was slated to take effect in August.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana State Senate has passed a sweeping anti-choice
bill similar to the one that has shuttered a third of abortion clinics
in Texas. The bill would require abortion providers to obtain admitting
privileges at a nearby hospital, a step that is often impossible, in
part because the providers admit so few patients to hospitals. Critics
say the Louisiana measure would close three of the state's five abortion
clinics.

 

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