Why North Dakota Right to Life Supports Measure 1

From North Dakota Right to Life · October 28, 2026

North Dakota Right to Life’s Board endorsed Measure 1 on October 1. Measure 1 would require constitutional ballot measures to receive 60 percent of the vote instead of a simple majority.

We endorsed Measure 1 because we believe it is one of the most important things we can do to keep abortion out of the North Dakota Constitution.

NDRL joins Lutherans for Life of North Dakota, the North Dakota Catholic Conference, and North Dakota Family Alliance in supporting Measure 1.

North Dakota’s current abortion restrictions remain in place following legislative and legal battles. That leaves another path for abortion advocates: putting an abortion amendment directly before the voters and adding it to our state Constitution.

We have already watched this happen in other conservative, pro-life states.

  • Ohio: Abortion amendment passed with 56.6%.

  • Montana: Abortion amendment passed with 57.8%.

  • Missouri: Abortion amendment passed with 51.6%.

  • Florida: Abortion amendment received 57.2%—but it failed because Florida requires 60% to amend its Constitution.

That comparison is why Measure 1 is so important.

Every one of those abortion amendments received more than 50 percent of the vote. Not one received 60 percent.

North Dakota is not immune from this. Under our current simple-majority requirement, an abortion amendment could become part of our Constitution with just over half the vote.

We are also seeing national money come into North Dakota. The Fairness Project, a national organization that has been involved in abortion ballot measure campaigns across the country, is opposing Measure 1 and has already spent more than $1 million against it in North Dakota. The North Dakota Monitor reported more than $1.12 million in spending against Measure 1 on October 8.

There is a reason national organizations are paying attention to Measure 1. The difference between a simple-majority requirement and a 60 percent requirement has already determined whether abortion was added to a state constitution.

We should not wait until North Dakota is facing a multimillion-dollar abortion ballot campaign to act.

Measure 1 gives us the opportunity to strengthen our Constitution now and make it significantly harder for abortion to be enshrined in it later.

That is why North Dakota Right to Life endorsed Measure 1.

Read the official Measure 1 information from the North Dakota Secretary of State.

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