Ask Onix
North Dakota Supreme Court upholds near-total abortion ban
A divided North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Friday to uphold a state law criminalizing nearly all abortions, overturning a lower court's temporary block and making violations punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The 3-2 decision clears the way for the ban to take effect, despite a previous injunction that had paused enforcement while legal challenges played out. Under the law, abortion is prohibited except when the mother's life is at risk; survivors of rape or incest may access the procedure only within the first six weeks of pregnancy-a window critics argue often precedes detection.
Legal and political reactions
In their opinion, the majority of justices determined that North Dakota's constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion and that the statute provides "adequate and fair warning" to comply. The ruling aligns the state with 12 others that have enacted total or near-total bans since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, eliminating federal abortion protections.
Republican Attorney General Drew Wrigley hailed the decision as a victory for "pro-life legislation," emphasizing his office's duty to defend state laws. "The high court has upheld this important legislation, enacted by the people's Legislature," he said in a statement.
Impact on providers and access
The law's reinstatement follows a 2022 relocation of the Red River Women's Clinic-the state's sole abortion provider-to neighboring Minnesota. The clinic, which led the legal challenge, had not issued a public response as of Friday evening.
Opponents of the ban argue that the six-week limit for rape and incest exceptions effectively denies care, as many pregnancies are not detected by that threshold. The law's penalties-five years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine-apply to providers, not patients.
Next steps
With the injunction lifted, the ban is now enforceable unless further legal action intervenes. Advocacy groups on both sides of the issue are expected to respond in the coming days, potentially setting the stage for additional court battles or legislative efforts.
