Yellow Bird: Turtle Mountain Band takes on abortion
Monday, November 3, 2008
Filed Under:
Opinion
"The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa’s tribal council wobbled out on a limb to pass a
resolution that bans abortions on their reservation. “Under no circumstances,” their resolution reads, “will abortions be performed and allowed.”
But the council’s on a branch that could easily snap.
When tribal governments pass resolutions such as this one — resolutions that run counter to the U.S. Constitution — those government leaders tend to be depicted as neophytes who are less than knowledgeable of federal laws that all citizens, including tribal members, must abide by. In other words, the resolutions make the tribal councils look bad and give the appearance of poor government.
The Turtle Mountain Band is a North Dakota tribe with a small land base and an enrollment of more than 30,000 members. The reservation borders Canada.
Here is the ruling that the tribe is up against: The 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortions. Further, it declares that a woman can have an abortion up until a fetus becomes viable, meaning the point where it could live outside the mother’s womb.
That ruling is constitutional law unless and until it’s changed."
Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD: Ban reflects poorly on council
(The Grand Forks Herald 10/31)
More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: Negative ads poison Senate race
(10/27)
Yellow Bird: North
Dakota landscape impresses (10/22)
Yellow Bird: Feeling helpless about the economy
(10/20)
Yellow Bird: Examine Native
American Party (10/15)
Yellow Bird: Sen.
Obama a presidential winner (10/13)
Yellow Bird: On UNITY, Amtrak and North Dakota
(7/30)
Yellow Bird: Sundance offers food
for the soul (7/23)
Yellow Bird:
Watching the sky for hints of danger (7/14)
Yellow Bird: Humbled by Turtle Mountain tornadoes
(7/10)
Yellow Bird: Sometimes the media
gets carried away (7/7)
Yellow Bird:
Smudging room at North Dakota hospital (7/2)
Yellow Bird: Adventures that stir the spirit
(6/18)
Yellow Bird: Exhibit focuses on
Arikara Scouts (6/16)
Yellow Bird: My
heart belongs to the Great Plains (6/11)
Yellow Bird: White buffalo signals hope and peace
(6/9)
Yellow Bird: Sen. Barack Obama for
president (6/4)
Yellow Bird: There's
good and bad in oil development (6/2)
Yellow Bird: Remembering all relatives a big chore
(5/28)
Yellow Bird: Oil on the Fort
Berthold Reservation (5/26)
Yellow Bird:
Recycle and live lightly on the Earth (5/12)
Yellow Bird: Leaps in America's multiracial society
(5/7)
Yellow Bird: Diversity in the
United States (5/5)
Yellow Bird:
Pollution a threat to North Dakota (4/30)
Yellow Bird: Program graduates Indian nurses at UND
(4/21)
Yellow Bird: Recovering from
brain aneurysm surgery (4/17)
Yellow
Bird: A fight for oil on the reservation (03/31)
Yellow Bird: Excitement in North Dakota's weather
(3/26)
Yellow Bird: Thoughts on Sen.
Obama and race (3/24)
Yellow Bird: Pray
for rain in western North Dakota (3/19)
Yellow Bird: Grandchildren are the greatest gift
(3/17)
Yellow Bird: UND powwow survives
budget woes (3/10)
Yellow Bird:
Stereotypes and Hillary Clinton (3/5)
Yellow Bird: Celebrating 125 years of UND history
(3/3)
Yellow Bird: High hopes for Indian
health bill (2/28)
Yellow Bird: More
Plains foods that are good for you (2/25)
Yellow Bird: Chokecherries, the wonder fruit
(2/20)
Yellow Bird: Sadness on a trip to
Standing Rock (2/18)
Yellow Bird: It's
time for a change in music (2/11)
Yellow
Bird: 'Sioux' drives Indian students away (2/7)
Yellow Bird: Another cold January in North Dakota
(1/30)
Yellow Bird: Tribal casinos
should be alcohol free (1/28)
Yellow
Bird: Race and gender in presidential race (1/23)
Yellow Bird: Barack Obama is my choice for 2008
(1/16)
Yellow Bird: Artman right on
off-reservation gaming (1/9)
Yellow
Bird: Barack Obama's big win in Iowa (1/7)
Copyright © Indianz.Com
Subscribe