Anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ resolutions to be voted on at state Republican convention

A resolution to be considered by North Dakota Republican Party delegates at their upcoming convention would define life as beginning at fertilization and call for criminal penalties for “anyone who kills a pre-born human being.”

It’s one of 15 policy resolutions that will be advanced to NDGOP delegates during the convention April 5-6 in Fargo.

The resolution supporting equal protection for the unborn does not mention in vitro fertilization, but says the right to life should be protected “regardless of a human being’s size, stage of development, environment, degree of dependency, or circumstances surrounding conception.”

The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that frozen embryos outside the womb are children, causing uncertainty for IVF treatments in that state.

The proposed NDGOP resolution says anyone who kills “a pre-born human” should answer for a crime, including a “principal offender, accomplice, or co-conspirator.” North Dakota bans abortion, but the law does not have penalties for the mother.

John Trandem, first vice chair for the NDGOP, said resolutions must be passed by a two-thirds majority of delegates at the convention to be officially accepted by the party.

Andrew Nyhus, executive director for the NDGOP, said each resolution is not binding, but rather gauges where the party lines up on issues during an election cycle.

“Resolutions are just statements that the body chooses to make,” Nyhus said. “It’s statements that are separate and distinct from the platform that stand during this (election) cycle until the next convention.”

Other proposals include:

• A statement reaffirming the state’s constitutional definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It also urges the state attorney general to oppose any attempt in court to restrict the religious freedom of people and organizations who hold sincere religious beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman.
• A resolution opposing adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Century Code as a protected class. It also “supports the restoration of gender dysphoric individuals, that they may embrace and be comfortable with their natural biological state.”
• A resolution supporting legislative efforts to eliminate property tax. The measure states “merely collecting these taxes is a waste of millions of dollars” and their “existence” is a chief complaint among North Dakota voters.
• A statement urging legislators to pass “universal school choice” containing protections for private, charter and home schools. The resolution also allows for taxpayer funds to follow students to the place that best fits their educational needs.
• A measure opposed to cronyism. The resolution states a government body that “takes money from some to give it to others for any reason whatsoever is distorting the market.” It says current policy grants special favors to the “politically well-connected” through “economic development” policy and the Department of Commerce. 
• A resolution that objects to COVID-19 vaccines and government-imposed mandates.
• A call for lawmakers to prohibit the use of state funds for programs and offices that promote diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The resolutions were advanced to the convention from the North Dakota Republican state committee meeting on March 23 and are different from the party’s platform.

Trandem said delegates will be able to vote on the resolutions individually rather than as a block, which he called “unprecedented.”

“I’ve been to every convention since 2000 and we’ve never divided them all,” Trandem said.

He added, by separating the resolutions, it gives the delegates a chance to weigh in on specific issues without having to vote for an entire package that may have included items they don’t support.

Trandem said delegates will not be allowed to debate or change the resolutions from the floor.

In a letter from the NDGOP state resolutions committee, Sen. Bob Paulson, R-Minot, co-chair for the committee, said 43 resolutions were advanced for consideration before a subcommittee curated the final list to the 15 resolutions that were presented to the NDGOP state committee. The resolutions committee was made up of: Paulson, Rep. Jim Jonas, R-West Fargo, Rep. Karen Karls, R-Bismarck, Rep. Rose Christensen, R-Rogers, Rep. Donna Henderson, R-Calvin, Delvin Boehm, Amber Vibeto, Isaiah Deal, Dan Gwynn and Richard Glynn.

“Resolutions can serve as a policy tool,” Nyhus said. “If you are a policymaker, you’ll have to judge for yourself as to how much you care that two-thirds of the convention supports that statement.”

Sandi Sanford, chair of the NDGOP, agreed with Nyhus that no one should be held accountable for their support, or opposition, to each of the resolutions.

This year, state party officials are circulating the resolutions ahead of the convention so more delegates will have time to absorb them and be better prepared to vote on the measures.

“I think sometimes they can go through these and they fly through these and it’s just too quick,” Sanford said. 

About 1,600 delegates have registered for the convention, she said.

This story was originally published in the North Dakota Monitor