GRAND FORKS - This letter is sent on behalf of the undersigned prospective M.D. students at the UND School of Medicine. It was developed entirely independently of faculty or administration involvement, solely represents the opinions of the undersigned and is not to be taken as the stance of the UND School of Medicine or its administration.
This letter also is not intended as a stance in favor of or opposition to the legality of elective abortion procedures.
We have congregated and submitted this letter in opposition to Measure 1, the proposed constitutional amendment worded, “The inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development must be recognized and protected.”
Those who have signed have done so for many different reasons, including personal and/or professional concerns over the very broad and ambiguous language which does not even attempt to cover any medical scenario, including but not limited to the following
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- Ectopic pregnancy
- Gestational trophoblastic disease
- Twin-twin transfusion syndrome
- Surgical/medical/chemotherapeutic care during pregnancy
- Obstetric emergencies prior to 22 weeks gestation
- Reproductive assistance for families trying to have children (in-vitro fertilization)
- End-of-life care (living wills)
Additionally, some have signed based solely on opposition to the government’s taking control of the personal health care decisions of its citizens.
Finally and also of great concern, it would make it less likely for many of us to choose to return home to practice medicine in North Dakota over some other state that does not carry the risk of criminal charges every time a woman who is of childbearing age and potentially pregnant steps into your emergency room, operating room or even clinic.
North Dakota currently is short of physicians in many of its communities, and it is our strong belief that legislation such as this will greatly aggravate that problem.
Craig Meiers
Naomi Light
Jamie Lombardo
C.W. Hall
Paul German
Lisa Schock
April Coming Hay
Travis Waswick
Amanda Peterson
Amanda Schwenn
Bianca Lamb
Aaron Frenette
Shane Gores
Greg Wieland
Bryan LaBore
Shay Hartvickson
Emily Bromley
Tom Grindberg
Jill Wieser
Ashley Horner
Meg Staires
Christopher Hellekson
Benjamin Maliske
Emily Woods
Ciara Johnson
McKayla Schmitt
Sarah Spitzer
Kirk Bjella
Elizabeth Donner
Ana Velic
Danielle Harrington
Tom Johnson
Amanda Kleppe
Brittany Azure
Ravi Panjini
Josy Hoff
Laramie Lunday
Turner Fishpaw
Aaron Baune
Brynn Stenehjem
Brendan Boe
Kara Prussing
Delbert Lamb
Sean Cooley
Aaron Smith
Michael Walery
Seth Zygarlicke
Thomas Seaver
Dane Hammer
Emma Swanson
Natalie Krier
Amanda Blanchard
Betsy Dickson
Larae Beth
Nathan Hoagland
Annah Preszler
Travis Geier
Daniel Augustadt
Luke Hushagen
Laurel Wessman
