North Dakota American Indian Tribe Approves Abortion Ban, Measure Might Not Stand

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 30 Oct 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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The tribal council of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians tribe in North Dakota has approved a resolution that would ban abortions on the tribe's land, but it is unclear if the measure was properly approved and should be allowed to stand, the Grand Forks Herald reports. According to the Herald, a tribal resolution becomes law once it is passed by the tribal council, but it "usually needs a stamp of approval from the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs." Harlene Davis of the BIA Turtle Mountain Agency tribal operations office said that resolutions requiring BIA approval are supposed to come through the office within 10 days and that the office has not received a signed copy of the resolution, which was approved Sept. 17 (Nadeau, Grand Forks Herald, 10/25). She said that the bureau would check the resolution against federal law, adding that she does not know whether it would need BIA approval, the AP/Fargo Forum reports (AP/Fargo Forum, 10/27).

The resolution, adopted by four of eight tribal council members, states that "under no circumstances will abortions be performed and allowed within any private or public facility within the boundaries of the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation and other lands under the jurisdiction of the tribe." It says that the "Governing Body faithfully believes that life is sacred and begins at the moment of conception" and that "pro-life is a universal issue of common sense, moral righteousness for the common good of life." It also states that the majority of TMBCI members are Christians (Grand Forks Herald, 10/25).

According to AP/ Forum, one tribal member also raised a concern that the resolution was not legally adopted by the council. Tribal member Andy Laverdure, known as a watchdog for tribal resolutions, said, "We had no published agenda, no three-day notice. It's a clear violation of the tribal constitution." Laverdure said that proposals must be done in open session, saying, "It needs to be transparent, on the council's meeting agenda, so anybody who may want to discuss the issue can do so" (AP/Fargo Forum, 10/27).

The Herald reports that the resolution would affect Belcourt, N.D., the only town within the reservation's boundaries, and Trenton, N.D., a town on tribal trust lands. Ray Grandbois -- associate area director of Indian Health Service, which runs the only hospital and clinic in Belcourt -- said IHS facilities are not subject to tribal resolutions. The hospital has not received a copy of the resolution, Grandbois said. No abortions have been performed at the hospital in recent years, he added (Grand Forks Herald, 10/25).

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