Judge axes North Dakota's near-total abortion ban
A judge in the Republican-dominated state overturned the ban, citing a woman's 'fundamental right'
What happened
A North Dakota judge overturned the state's near-total ban on abortion yesterday, ruling that the 2023 law violated several guarantees in the state constitution, including a "fundamental right to choose abortion" up to fetal viability, or about 24 weeks into pregnancy.
Who said what
The abortion ban "infringes on a woman's fundamental right to procreative autonomy" and is "unconstitutionally void for vagueness," state District Judge Bruce Romanick said. It also "takes away a woman's liberty and her right to pursue and obtain safety and happiness."
The ruling was a "victory for abortion rights supporters," albeit a "bittersweet one," The Washington Post said. The state "no longer has any abortion clinic" since North Dakota's sole provider moved across the border to Minnesota after a prior ban — which Romanick also struck down — was enacted in 2022. Some women will now be able to get abortions in hospitals, but the Red River Women's Clinic said it had no plans to return to North Dakota.
What next?
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley (R) said he would appeal the ruling. And the state's "Republican-controlled legislature can, and very likely will, try to enact another ban when it convenes again in January," The New York Times said.
Nationally, an "unprecedented number of abortion initiatives are on state ballots this November," and abortion opponents are "trying to defeat them even before the start of voting through legal challenges," administrative maneuvering and "outright intimidation," The Washington Post said. But if "courts in Nebraska and South Dakota" don't strike the measures from the ballot, "voters in 10 states from Nevada to New York will have the opportunity to enshrine a right to abortion" in their state constitutions.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Today's political cartoons - September 17, 2024
Tuesday's cartoons - another assassination attempt, radical policies, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Flooding in Central Europe leaves at least 17 dead
Speed Read Storm Boris hit Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Suspect lurked 12 hours at Trump course, fired no shots
Speed Read Ryan Routh, 58, did not have Trump in his line of sight when the Secret Service apprehended him
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Suspect lurked 12 hours at Trump course, fired no shots
Speed Read Ryan Routh, 58, did not have Trump in his line of sight when the Secret Service apprehended him
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ohio governor slams attacks on Haitian migrants
Speed Read Mike DeWine condemned the conspiracies boosted by Donald Trump and JD Vance about immigrants eating people's pets
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mexico ratifies contentious judicial overhaul
Speed Read The reform pushed through by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will require all judges to be elected
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US demands answers in Israeli killing of US protester
Speed Read Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was likely killed by IDF soldiers while protesting in the West Bank
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Johnson pulls spending bill amid GOP revolt
Speed Read House Speaker Mike Johnson called off a planned vote on a stopgap spending package as odds of government shutdown increase
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine hits Moscow with large drone attack
Ukraine's strike was the biggest drone attack on the Russian capital to date
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Harris baits, debates Trump in feisty Philly face-off
Speed Read The first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris quickly grew combative
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Maduro rival flees Venezuela for exile in Spain
Speed Read Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González fled as part of a negotiated deal with Nicolás Maduro’s government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published