On November 21, the Supreme Court of North Dakota rejected a lower court ruling that had deemed the state’s ban on abortion unconstitutional. As a result, abortion has once again become illegal in the state, except for limited reasons such as health concerns or cases of rape.
While three out of the five justices on the North Dakota Supreme Court supported the lower court’s ruling that the abortion ban was unconstitutional, the state constitution requires at least four justices to declare a state law unconstitutional. Therefore, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision from a year ago.
According to a statement on the North Dakota Supreme Court website, the required number of votes to declare Sections 12.1-19.1 of the North Dakota Century Code unconstitutional, which criminalizes abortion with exceptions, was not met. The outcome of the decision resulted in the reversal of the lower court’s ruling that deemed Sections 12.1-19.1 unconstitutional and invalid.
In a historic ruling on June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade case, denying the constitutional right to privacy for abortion established by the court in 1973, allowing women to make decisions about abortion in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. Since then, states have had the authority to enact their own abortion laws without concern for previous Supreme Court rulings.
In April 2023, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who was reelected for a second term, signed the most stringent anti-abortion law in the United States. The law permits abortion only in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergencies within the first six weeks of pregnancy. Apart from emergencies such as ectopic pregnancies, abortion is not allowed at any stage of pregnancy.
On September 12, 2024, Judge Bruce Romanick declared North Dakota’s abortion ban unconstitutional, citing vagueness and violation of rights protected by the state constitution. The Supreme Court of North Dakota’s decision on November 21 reversed Romanick’s ruling, reinstating the enforcement of the anti-abortion law. The law categorizes performing abortion as a felony, but allows for abortion in situations where the life of the pregnant woman is at risk or her health severely endangered. One of the plaintiffs in the case, the Red River Women’s Clinic, has relocated to Moorhead, Minnesota.