The North Dakota supreme court revived the state’s abortion ban on Friday, once again making it a felony for doctors to perform the procedure except in medical emergencies or in some cases of rape or incest.
The supreme court’s decision reverses a lower-court ruling from last fall that had frozen the ban, in part on the grounds that its exceptions were unconstitutionally vague. Although three of the court’s five justices agreed with the lower court, they fell short of the supermajority needed under state law to declare laws unconstitutional.
“This decision is a devastating loss for pregnant North Dakotans,” Meetra Mehdizadeh, senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. The center represented the plaintiffs in the case, which included multiple doctors and an abortion clinic that has moved out of North Dakota and into neighboring Minnesota.
“This decision is a devastating loss for pregnant North Dakotans,” Meetra Mehdizadeh, senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. The center represented the plaintiffs in the case, which included multiple doctors and an abortion clinic that has moved out of North Dakota and into neighboring Minnesota.