Another Reproductive Rights Protest To Be Held At The ND Capitol

Another rally is set to take place at the North Dakota State Capitol. The North Dakota Women's Network is hosting a rally/protest to express their disapproval with the "Trigger Laws" being activated in North Dakota, and the overturning of Roe V Wade.

If you attended the Independence day celebration on Monday (July, 4th) you may have noticed quite a few protesters there. While this was led by a different individuals/organizations, it seems quite a few people are turning up for the same cause.

The Rally

The Women's Network's rally is scheduled for this weekend (Saturday, July 9th) from 10 am to 12 pm. There's a Facebook event page called "Bans Off Day of Action" that details the plan.

People will meet at the steps of the Capitol Library, and guest speakers will talk to the crowd. After that, the group plans to march around the Capitol grounds.

The Women's Network

I reached out to the North Dakota Women's Network for a statement. Here's what they officially had to say:

"The North Dakota Women’s Network strongly opposes the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade...The decision of the Court to revoke this protection of privacy is devastating, as it will severely harm access to reproductive health care for many Americans’."

The statement went on to say that this disproportionately impacts North Dakota women and families. I spoke to Kristie Wolff, the President of the ND Women's Network; she tells me there are some misconceptions about what the overturnment means to those residing in our state.

"We do feel a lot of support from the community and people are speaking out against the ruling that never have before. We are also seeing a lot of misinformation," said Wolff.

Wolff tells me some people in our community believe this doesn't have an effect on women in North Dakota.

"The biggest talking point we are seeing shared by those who support the overturn is 'this doesn’t ban anything, it only turns the decision over to the states' – that is inaccurate..." said Wolff.

When the overturnment of Roe V Wade went through, this did give the states the ability to enact existing laws that ban abortions. These "Trigger Laws" must be certified by the state's Attorney General.

North Dakota's Attorney General, Drew Wrigley, sent a certification letter to the North Dakota Legislative Council on Tuesday, June 28th.

What Does That Actually Mean?

That means the state of North Dakota has chosen to enact the existing state laws that prohibit abortions. This takes effect 30 days after the certification (July 28th, 2022).

According to it's statement, the ND Women's Network plans to "continue to fight for the restoration of privacy and access to healthcare for all North Dakotans."