Sen. Carolyn Nelson, D-Fargo, disputed Sitte’s claim of gender-based abortions in North Dakota. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. Both bills must be signed by 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. No one spoke against the so-called fetal heartbeat bill, which the Senate took up immediately after passing the genetic abnormalities bill. 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. 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. “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. Heartbeats have been detected as early as approximately six weeks after conception. 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. 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. After brief discussion on Senate rules relating to absences and voting, Triplett was excused so the vote could proceed. 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. 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. 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. 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 bill was divided, with one section removing the wording about genetic abnormalities. The Senate approved the fetal heartbeat bill 26-17; the House vote was 63-28.
– 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.