Little more than a week after Arkansas adopted the country’s most stringent abortion limits , banning the procedure at 12 weeks of pregnancy , the North Dakota Legislature on Friday passed a more restrictive bill that would ban most abortions as early as 6 weeks into pregnancy. 
 
 The Legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, also passed a second measure that would ban abortions sought because of a genetic abnormality or to select the sex of the child. 
 
 Both bills must be signed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, to become law. As of Friday afternoon, the governor had not said whether he would do so. 
 
 No other state has barred abortions because of evidence that a fetus has a genetic defect like Down syndrome, which rises in incidence with maternal age, leading many pregnant women to seek tests for the disorder. Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Arizona have all banned abortions for the purpose of gender selection. 
 
 National abortion rights groups, including the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, condemned the measures that passed the North Dakota Senate on Friday, after previous approval by the House. These groups warned that if adopted, both measures would be declared unconstitutional by federal courts. 
 
 Under Supreme Court rulings, women have a right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, generally around 24 weeks into pregnancy. 
 
 “We urge the governor to veto all of these bills to ensure that this personal and private decision can be made by a woman and her family, not politicians sitting in the Capitol,” said Jennifer Dalven, the director of the A.C.L.U.’s Reproductive Freedom Project. 
 
 One of the newly passed North Dakota bills outlaws abortions when a fetal heartbeat is “detectable” using “standard medical practice.” Heartbeats are often detectable at about 6 weeks, using an intrusive transvaginal ultrasound, or at about 10 to 12 weeks when using abdominal ultrasounds. 
 
 The bill does not specify a time threshold or whether doctors with a patient in the initial weeks of pregnancy must use the transvaginal probe. A proposed law in Virginia last year that would have required use of the transvaginal ultrasound caused a national outcry, and the bill was ultimately shelved. Arkansas declared a 12-week limit specifically to avoid that controversy. 
 
 But some experts said that doctors in North Dakota, which has only one clinic performing abortions, in Fargo, could face prosecution if they did not use the vaginal ultrasound when necessary to detect a heartbeat. Doctors who knowingly perform abortions in violation of the measure, if it is adopted, could be charged with a felony that carries a five-year prison sentence; the patients would not face criminal charges. 
 
 The law makes exceptions for abortion to save the life of the mother or for other severe medical emergencies, but not in cases of rape or incest. 
 
 In 2011, according to state data, 1,247 abortions were performed in North Dakota. If the ban becomes law, more than 75 percent of the procedures could be outlawed, according to Elizabeth Nash, a state issues manager with the Guttmacher Institute in Washington, a research group that supports abortion rights. 
 
 The early abortion ban was sponsored by Representative Bette Grande, a Republican from Fargo. 
 
 “A heartbeat is accepted by everyone as a sign of life,” she said in a blog posting on Tuesday as she argued that it was time for the Supreme Court to revisit the definition of viability. ||||| North Dakota on Friday moved closer to adopting what would be the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, with lawmakers sending the Republican governor measures that could set the state up for a costly legal battle over the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized the procedure. 
 
 North Dakota state Sen. Minority Leader Mac Schneider, D-Grand Forks, left, and Sen. Majority Leader Rich Wardner, second from left, converse with Senate President, Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley, right, on the... (Associated Press) 
 
 North Dakota state Sen. Bonnie Triplett, D-Grand Forks, speaks out against HB1305 before leaving the chamber without casting a vote on the bill at the state Capitol, Friday, March 15, 2013 in Bismarck,... (Associated Press) 
 
 North Dakota state Sen. Carolyn Nelson, D-Fargo, speaks out against HB1305 during the chamber floor debate at the state Capitol, Friday, March 15, 2013 in Bismarck, N.D. The North Dakota Senate overwhelmingly... (Associated Press) 
 
 Rep. Bette Grande, R-Fargo, talks to reporters at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., Friday, March 15, 2013. The North Dakota Senate approved two anti-abortion bills Friday, one banning abortions as... (Associated Press) 
 
 North Dakota state Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, speaks in favor of HB1305 during the chamber floor debate at the state Capitol, Friday, March 15, 2013 in Bismarck, N.D. The North Dakota Senate overwhelmingly... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Jan. 31, 2013 file photo, Rep. Bette Grande testifies before the House Human Services Committee in Bismarck, N.D. The North Dakota Senate approved two anti-abortion bills Friday, March 15, 2013,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The North Dakota Senate overwhelmingly approved two anti-abortion bills Friday, one banning abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy and another prohibiting women from having the procedure because a fetus has a genetic defect, such as Down syndrome. North Dakota would be the first state in the U.S. to adopt such laws. 
 
 Supporters said their goal is to challenge the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion up until a fetus is considered viable, usually at 22 to 24 weeks, though anti-abortion activists elsewhere have expressed concern about the strategy. 
 
 "It's a good day for babies," said Rep. Bette Grande, a Republican from Fargo who introduced both bills. The state's only abortion clinic is in Fargo, and abortion-rights advocates say the measures are meant to shut it down. 
 
 Gov. Jack Dalrymple hasn't said anything to indicate he would veto the measures, and the bills have enough support in each chamber for the Legislature to override him. 
 
 Debate Friday was brief, with the Senate taking about an hour to pass both measures. No one spoke against the so-called fetal heartbeat bill, which the Senate took up immediately after passing the genetic abnormalities bill. The votes were largely on party lines, with Republicans supporting the measures and Democrats opposing them. 
 
 Opponents, who have promised legal challenges to both measures if they become law, urged Dalrymple to veto the bills. North Dakota is one of several states with Republican-controlled Legislatures and GOP governors that is looking at abortion restrictions. But the state is better positioned than most for a long court fight: It has budget surplus nearing $2 billion thanks to new-found oil wealth. 
 
 The American Civil Liberties Union called the measures "extreme," saying they would make North Dakota "the first state in the nation to ban most abortions." 
 
 "In America, no woman, no matter where she lives, should be denied the ability to make this deeply personal decision," ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in a statement. 
 
 Arkansas passed a 12-week ban earlier this month that prohibits most abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected using an abdominal ultrasound. That ban is scheduled to take effect 90 days after the Arkansas Legislature adjourns. 
 
 A fetal heartbeat can generally be detected earlier in a pregnancy using a vaginal ultrasound, but Arkansas lawmakers balked at requiring women seeking abortions to have the more invasive imaging technique. 
 
 North Dakota's measure doesn't specify how a fetal heartbeat would be detected. Doctors performing an abortion after a heartbeat is detected could face a felony charge punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Women having an abortion would not face charges. 
 
 While some abortion opponents welcomed Arkansas' new law as a bold challenge to Roe v. Wade, others favor more incremental strategies, fearing such bans could lead to emphatic rejections in court. 
 
 A similar fetal heartbeat bill was debated by Ohio lawmakers last year before being blocked by the Senate president. The measure, which could be revived this year, fractured Ohio's anti-abortion movement in a debate over its tactical effectiveness. 
 
 Grande told lawmakers that fears about a legal challenge shouldn't prevent them from approving the North Dakota measure. 
 
 "Whether this is challenged in court is entirely up to the abortion industry," Grande told lawmakers this week. "Given the lucrative nature of abortion, it is likely that any statute that reduces the number of customers will be challenged by the industry." 
 
 During the Senate debate, one senator who had spoken out against the genetic abnormalities bill left the chamber in protest. The move forced the Senate to briefly halt debate, because the chambers rules require senators to be formally excused. The Senate was able to move forward with proceedings on the bill by passing a motion to excuse the senator. 
 
 "It was absolutely a silent protest," Sen. Connie Triplett told The Associated Press after the vote. "North Dakota will have a harder time recruiting and retaining doctors because doctors will not want to be arrested for advising women on abortion issues." 
 
 Sen. Margaret Sitte, a Republican from Bismarck, said the genetic abnormality bill is meant to ban the destruction of life based on "an arbitrary society standard of being good enough." Some test results pointing to abnormalities are incorrect, she said, and doctors can perform surgeries even before a baby is born to correct some genetic conditions. 
 
 Sitte's voice cracked as she described developmentally challenged children she knows. "Their hugs are tighter, their laughter louder and their empathy more sincere" than so-called "normal people," she said. 
 
 The genetic abnormalities bill also bans abortion based on gender selection. Pennsylvania, Arizona and Oklahoma already have such laws, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion restrictions across the U.S. 
 
 The Senate approved the genetic abnormalities bill 27-15; the House vote was 64-27. The Senate approved the fetal heartbeat bill 26-17; the House vote was 63-28. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow James MacPherson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/macphersonja. ||||| Two bills that would increase restrictions on North Dakota’s abortion laws are headed to the governor’s desk after passage by the Senate on Friday. 
 
 If signed, the bills would create some of the toughest abortion laws in the nation. 
 
 House Bill 1305 would make it a Class A misdemeanor for a physician to willingly perform an abortion based specifically on gender or on genetic abnormalities. 
 
 House Bill 1456 requires a physician to determine whether there’s a detectable heartbeat prior to performing an abortion. A physician who willingly performs an abortion after the detection of a heartbeat could be subject to a Class C felony. 
 
 HB1456, if signed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple, would enact the earliest abortion restriction in the nation. Heartbeats have been detected as early as approximately six weeks after conception. 
 
 “The time has come to choose life,” said Sen. Spencer Berry, R-Fargo, who spoke briefly in favor of HB1456. No further debate followed before the Senate passed the bill 26-17. 
 
 Opponents of the bill in past hearings have pointed to federal law that protects abortions up to where an unborn child can survive outside the womb, approximately 24 weeks. 
 
 The potential six-week mark is even stricter than a bill passed by the Arkansas Legislature that enacts a near-ban after 12 weeks. A federal court earlier this month overturned an Idaho law banning abortions after 20 weeks. 
 
 Nearly all of Friday’s debate was centered on HB1305, which passed by a 28-15 vote minutes earlier. 
 
 The debate included emotional appeals and personal stories from senators, as well as a brief delay during floor votes on two divided portions of the bill when a Democratic member of the Senate left the chamber. 
 
 Sen. Connie Triplett, D-Grand Forks, was later excused, but her departure drew a rebuke from the majority leader and a warning for senators not to do that in the future. 
 
 Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, introduced HB1305, calling on her Senate colleagues to vote against what she called sex discrimination. 
 
 “This gender-cide has led to ... a well-documented gender gap,” Sitte said. 
 
 Sen. Carolyn Nelson, D-Fargo, disputed Sitte’s claim of gender-based abortions in North Dakota. She said the issue of such abortions stems from the Chinese law restricting couples living in urban areas to one child. 
 
 “We don’t live in China. We live in North Dakota. This is not a problem in North Dakota,” Nelson said. 
 
 According to records from the state’s only abortion facility, there have been no instances of an abortion being performed for gender reasons, she said. 
 
 Minority Leader Mac Schneider, D-Grand Forks, then asked to have HB1305 split into two parts for separate votes before voting on the final bill. The motion was approved. 
 
 The bill was divided, with one section removing the wording about genetic abnormalities. 
 
 Berry said allowing sex-selective abortions and those based on genetic abnormalities is a path down the “slippery slope of eugenics.” 
 
 “We get in a dangerous area for future precedent,” Berry said. 
 
 Triplett called the comparison to China “silly” and called the Legislature’s attempt to govern women’s bodies “an abomination.” 
 
 She said the Chinese law was passed to address a fear of rapidly rising population and a consequence was that couples would have sons overwhelmingly. When the law was enacted in the late 1970s, only men could own property, she said. 
 
 Sitte said abortion providers can claim that no abortions are being conducted based on gender “because they don’t have to give a reason.” 
 
 She said North Dakota was a leader in passing its anti-discrimination laws and HB1305 boils down to a question of discrimination. 
 
 “Is it right to discriminate against a human being?” Sitte said. 
 
 Before the first vote was taken, Triplett left the chamber. After brief discussion on Senate rules relating to absences and voting, Triplett was excused so the vote could proceed. The first part of the bill then passed by a 37-6 vote. 
 
 Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, spoke about the second section, which stripped the reference to genetic abnormalities from the bill. He noted that his sister was born with a genetic abnormality and said nothing about her makes her life less valuable. 
 
 “These are special people here for a special purpose,” Wanzek said. 
 
 The second part of the bill also passed, and the full HB1305 then passed by a 28-15 vote. 
 
 Before the Senate adjourned, Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, told members that Senate rules require those who are on the floor and in attendance to vote. He said absences can be excused only by first checking with the leader of the senator’s party and that the absent senator must have a legitimate excuse. 
 
 Wardner told his colleagues that if any of them are thinking of leaving as Triplett did, they should “get it out of your mind.” If that happens, he said, the Senate will wait for them to return.
– Abortion opponents in North Dakota have one-upped their peers in Arkansas. Less than two weeks after the latter state banned abortions after 12 weeks, North Dakota lawmakers approved a ban after six weeks, reports the Bismarck Tribune. They also voted to outlaw abortions when a genetic defect is discovered—Down syndrome, for example—or when parents don't like the sex of their fetus. Gov. Jack Dalrymple hasn't said whether he will sign the measures, but proponents have enough votes to override even if he vetoes them, reports AP. Which means it's a safe bet that the state will soon have the strictest abortion laws in the nation. Lawmakers picked six weeks because that's when a heartbeat can be detected by transvaginal ultrasound, the intrusive procedure that set off controversy in Virginia last year, reports the New York Times. Arkansas picked 12 weeks because a heartbeat can be detected with an abdominal ultrasound at that point. Assuming the North Dakota bills become law, expect legal challenges to follow. No other state, for example, has a law that outlaws abortions over a genetic defect. Of the 1,247 abortions performed in the state in 2011, 75% would be illegal under the new legislation, according to a research group that backs abortion rights. That could well mean that the state's only abortion clinic, in Fargo, would have to close its doors.