Abortion is illegal again in North Dakota after the state Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling and cleared the way for a near-total ban to take effect.
The law prohibits anyone from performing an abortion and classifies violations as a class C felony with penalties of up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both, according to reporting from The Hill.
The measure includes exceptions for rape or incest within the first six weeks of pregnancy and for cases in which a mother faces death or a serious health risk.
The state constitution requires four of the five justices to agree that a law is unconstitutional, and three members of the court concluded the ban was unconstitutionally vague, while two did not.
Justice Daniel Crothers, one of the three votes against the ban, wrote that the statute's exceptions related to preserving the life and health of the mother were unclear and that the lower court correctly found the law unconstitutional.
He wrote that striking the vague portion left the remaining parts of the statute inoperable and said the court would not rule on the other issues raised in the case.
The ruling places North Dakota among 13 states with the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, blocking the procedure at nearly all stages of pregnancy.
Abortion access has already been limited in North Dakota because the state has no operating clinics.
The last remaining provider moved to Minnesota soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
State law also forbids the use of telehealth services for abortion induced by medication.
Abortion policy in North Dakota has shifted several times since Roe was overturned, starting with the activation of a trigger ban approved years earlier by lawmakers.
The Legislature later passed a similar statute that included specific exceptions, but a judge blocked that law in 2024, prompting an appeal from Republican Attorney General Drew Wrigley.
Data from the Guttmacher Institute showed that 820 North Dakota residents traveled to Minnesota for abortions in 2024.
In a statement, Meetra Mehdizadeh of the Center for Reproductive Rights said the ban creates uncertainty for physicians who must weigh providing care against the risk of criminal charges and argued that residents should be able to access abortion without delays caused by legal confusion.
The North Dakota Catholic Conference praised the court's decision. "The North Dakota Catholic Conference applauds the North Dakota Supreme Court's decision. While this is a major victory, we are nevertheless disappointed that only two of the five justices ruled to uphold the current law as constitutional."
The church leaders said that means there is more work to do in North Dakota to preserve life.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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