North Dakota passes legislation that prevents public universities from partnering with abortion vendors

(The College Fix) – The North Dakota General Assembly sent the governor legislation on April 27 that would prevent public universities from receiving funding from two programs if they partner with organizations that promote or commit abortions.

Senate Bill 2030 is primarily an appropriations bill that provides $11.15 million to public universities as part of the “higher education challenge matching grant program.”

Institutions can only receive the taxpayer funds if it affirms it “is not sponsoring, partnering with, applying for grants with, or providing a grant subaward to any person or organization that performs [abortions].” The same language would be attached to another scholarship fund program.

Participating institutions must agree not to work with an organization that “promotes the performance of an abortion unless the abortion is necessary to prevent the death of the woman.”

Republican state senator Janne Myrdal sponsored the legislation. Myrdal did not respond to two emails in the past three weeks that asked her about other laws that bar state funds from going to organizations that promote abortion. The College Fix also asked her to respond to academic freedom concerns.

Molly Secor-Turner, a North Dakota State University professor, has partnered with abortion vendor Planned Parenthood to develop a sex education curriculum.

State lawmakers began to raise the issue at least as of 2019, according to Campus Reform. In 2018, the public university gave about 66 percent of its money from a federal grant to Planned Parenthood as part of the research.

Turner did not respond to two emails in the past three weeks that asked her for more details on her research and how it is affiliated with Planned Parenthood.

North Dakota Right to Life celebrated passage of the legislation.

“Thanks to all of those that helped us contact our legislators, SB 2030 passed and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature,” the group’s director, Sierra Heitkamp, wrote on the group’s website.

“We want to get Planned Parenthood off all campuses and started a Christian Schools Project to start with people of faith,” Kristi Hamrick, spokesperson for Students for Life of America, told The College Fix via email.

She said “there have been some innovative legislative solutions to the problem of the nation’s number one abortion vendor infiltrating schools to create customers.”

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