Plain Talk With Rob Port

When state Rep. Eric Murphy decided to introduced an abortion bill that, while perhaps representing where most of the public is on the issue, is likely to incite blowback from activists on both sides, he decided he wasn't going to ask any of his fellow lawmakers to co-sponsor it. "This is going to be a charged bill," he said of the draft legislation, which he'll introduce next month during North Dakota's legislative session. He said he felt "no need to expose anyone" to the threats and vitriol the bill could inspire. Murphy joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the proposal, which would make abortion legal as an elective for the first 15 weeks of of a pregnancy, illegal after 26 weeks, and allowable between 16 and 26 weeks only with approval from a panel of medical professionals who deem it medically necessary. Is Murphy's bill a pro-life bill? That side of the argument would probably say no, because abortion would be completely legal for the first 15 weeks. Is it a pro-choice bill? That side of the de