North Dakota Rejects Universal Free School Meals; Faces 'Pro Life Until They're Out of the Womb' Jab

North Dakota has narrowly voted against a plan to give every public school pupil free breakfast and lunch, after a constitutional amendment to guarantee universal school meals was defeated by just 1.2 percentage points.

Constitutional Measure 2 failed in Tuesday's election, with Governor Kelly Armstrong and other opponents insisting their objection was to writing a permanent funding mandate into the state constitution rather than to the idea of feeding children.

The outcome prompted criticism on social media, including one X user who accused the state of being 'pro life' only until birth.

A Razor-Thin Defeat

Measure 2 failed with 50.61 per cent voting no and 49.39 per cent voting yes, according to unofficial returns, Valley News Live reported. That amounted to 119,152 votes against and 116,263 in favour, a gap of 2,889, according to Ballotpedia.

The margin was fewer than 3,000 votes out of more than 235,000 cast. The North Dakota Monitor also reported the defeat on election night.

What the Measure Would Have Done

The constitutional amendment would have required public schools, including charter schools, to provide one free breakfast and one free lunch each school day to every enrolled pupil. Private, Bureau of Indian Education and other tribal schools could have opted in.

Schools would have had to claim as much federal money as possible first, with the state paying the remaining cost. The ballot title estimated the bill at £93 million to £101 million ($124.3 million to $134.3 million) per two-year budget cycle. If lawmakers failed to identify a funding source, the money would have come from the state's Legacy Earnings Fund.

Under the current system, meals are funded mainly through federal programmes, and only lower-income families qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

Backers Said Plan Would Cut Stigma and Help Families

Supporters, led by the group Together for School Meals, argued that the plan would remove stigma in the lunch line, improve pupil performance and help families who earn too much to qualify for help but still struggle to pay.

Backers included Republican state senator Sean Cleary and the teachers' union North Dakota United. The campaign reported more than £1.1 million ($1.5 million) in contributions, with The Fairness Project and the National Education Association among its biggest donors. As of May, no campaign had registered to oppose it.

'Pro Life Until They're Out of the Womb'

Armstrong led the opposition and put the cost at about £105 million ($140 million), according to Ballotpedia. He and others said their objection was not to feeding children but to writing a spending requirement into the state constitution regardless of future economic conditions or oil prices, Valley News Live reported.

Republican state senators Janne Myrdal and Paul Thomas also opposed the measure, and Myrdal warned that voters would be 'burdening yourself with taxes', according to Ballotpedia.

The vote followed a failed attempt in the Legislature. In January, the North Dakota Senate rejected a free school meals bill. Supporters then gathered more than 49,000 valid signatures, well above the 31,164 required, to put the measure on the ballot, Ballotpedia reported.

The result drew criticism online. Responding to news of the defeat, X user @ay_taybay wrote: '"Pro life" until they're out of the womb, right?'

Any future push for universal free meals will now have to go through the regular legislative process rather than a constitutional amendment, Valley News Live reported.