A state judge struck down North Dakota’s near-total ban on abortion Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a fundamental right to access abortion before a fetus.
A state judge struck down North Dakota’s near-total ban on abortion Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a fundamental right to access abortion before a fetus is viable. In his ruling, state District Judge Bruce Romanick also said that the law violates the state constitution because it is too vague in how it specifies exemptions, per the New York Times. Under the judge’s order, abortion would be legal in North Dakota, but the state currently has no clinics performing them, and the Republican-dominated state government would be expected to appeal the ruling, the AP reports.
