North Dakota (trfnews.i234.me) – Abortion is once again illegal in North Dakota following a state Supreme Court decision issued on Friday. The court failed to reach the four-justice majority required to uphold a lower court ruling that struck down the state’s abortion ban last year. The decision restores the 2023 law passed by the Legislature.
Three of the five justices agreed that he ban is unconstitutionally vague. Two justices said the law is constitutional. Because the North Dakota Constitution requires at least four justices to agree before a law can be ruled unconstitutional, the lower court ruling could not stand.
State Sen. Janne Myrdal, who authored the 2023 legislation, said she was “thrilled and grateful” for the decision. She said the ruling affirms what she believes is a constitutional protection for “the mother and the unborn child.”
With the ruling in effect, abortion is outlawed in almost all cases. Before Friday’s decision, abortion in North Dakota was already limited only to life- or health-preserving situations in a hospital setting. The state’s only provider moved from Fargo to Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2022.
The law carries felony penalties for performing an abortion. Exceptions exist only for rape or incest within the first six weeks of pregnancy and for preventing death or a “serious health risk” to the mother.
Justice Daniel Crothers, one of the three justices who said the ban is unconstitutionally vague, wrote that the district court was correct. He argued that the law does not clearly explain when a doctor may perform an abortion to preserve a patient’s life or health. Crothers wrote that removing the vague language would make the remaining parts of the law inoperable.
The case began when the Red River Women’s Clinic and several physicians challenged the 2023 law. A district judge struck down the ban in 2024 after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which shifted abortion battles to state courts and legislatures. Both the district court and the Supreme Court previously denied requests from the state to enforce the ban during the appeal.
Advocates for reproductive rights said those earlier decisions ensured patients with complications could receive care without delay.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.
