Overview
- The ruling reverses a 2024 district court decision and makes performing most abortions a felony in North Dakota.
- Three justices concluded the law’s life and health exception is unconstitutionally vague, while two said it provides sufficient guidance to physicians.
- The statute allows abortions only to prevent the patient’s death or a serious health risk and for rape or incest within the first six weeks of pregnancy.
- North Dakota has had no in-state clinic since Red River Women’s Clinic moved to Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2022, and earlier orders kept the ban off the books during the appeal.
- The Center for Reproductive Rights called the decision a devastating loss, while Attorney General Drew Wrigley and supporters of the 2023 law praised the outcome.